


Darkness Rises and the Light to Meet It

by MilleniumPorg



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars
Genre: Dark Rey (Star Wars), F/M, Fix-It, Force Dyad (Star Wars), Post-TROS Fix-It Fic, TROS Fix-It Fic, Torture, canonverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:21:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 31,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24234241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilleniumPorg/pseuds/MilleniumPorg
Summary: Rey is traumatized by the events that unfolded at the end of TROS and starts down a dark path that only her dyad can turn her from.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 57
Kudos: 77





	1. Rey

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at any form of creative writing since 2010, so please be understanding if this isn't the most well-crafted piece ever. I was inspired by the Dark Rey concept artwork that was released for TROS and felt that the story needed a more interesting and satisfying conclusion, so please enjoy my brain child.

Rey stared at the ground blankly, unable to believe what had just transpired before her eyes. He had come for her as Ben Solo. He had saved her from death. She had finally had the courage to kiss him. She had finally seen him smile as she held his face tenderly in her hands, and, seconds later, he was gone – disappeared into nothing – leaving only his clothes behind. A dark hole seared in her chest; her skin felt as if it had been peeled off, leaving only the raw flesh – an open wound flushed with salt water. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she began to tremble. She tried to hold back the sobs that built in her throat until she finally gave in and screamed into the darkness around her. 

She looked around her. In the pitch black of the Sith temple, she recalled the events of the minutes preceding this – the worst moment of her life. She remembered being exhausted – being so spent of energy that she couldn’t find the strength to lift herself out of the dirt. She remembered hearing voices – Master Luke among them – that encouraged her and gave her the strength to rise. She remembered using that strength to defeat the Emperor, crossing Anakin and Leia’s blades and channeling the power of thousands of years of Jedi. The Jedi! Certainly they were still nearby in the Force. They could help. They could fix this, and bring Ben back to her. 

She reached out with her feelings, hopeful that she would sense the presence of Master Luke – anyone that could help her. She felt nothing. She reached further, tapping into what little energy she had left. Nothing. They had left her alone. “Besides,” she thought to herself, “they no longer needed her.” Her role as the vessel that facilitated the defeat of Emperor Palpatine was complete, and the darkness of the Sith had been extinguished in the galaxy. She had been a fool to think otherwise. 

Rey pushed herself up from the ground and carefully picked up Ben’s clothing, folding them into a neat pile in her arms. She could still smell his sweat and musk as she hugged them tightly. She turned her attention to the lightsabers lying where she had fallen. She gazed at them for a moment, contemplating them, considering what they stood for. Without a second thought she turned her heel, heading back to her ship and leaving the Skywalker lightsabers in the dirt where they belonged. 

She emerged from the blackness of the Sith temple to see the First Order Tie Fighter Ben had flown to meet her parked next to Luke’s battered and dilapidated X-Wing that she had flown here. She couldn’t bear to look at either ship but couldn’t bear to stay on this Force-forsaken planet any longer. She strode towards Ben’s Tie, jumping up onto the cockpit using the Force and hopping down into the cockpit – she had always wondered what it would be like to pilot a Tie Fighter; now was her chance. She hesitated for a moment before powering it on, pondering what her next move should be. Should she return to Ajan Kloss and reunite with the Resistance? “No,” she thought firmly. They had already retreated back to their base with the last ship jumping into hyperspace in the sky above as she looked through the Durasteel of the cockpit. They no longer needed her; the war was over as far as she was concerned, and she didn’t feel up to explaining the events on Exegol to Finn, Poe, and Rose, who she was sure would all be eager to hear what happened. She scanned through the star charts in the memory system of the Tie, contemplating where to retreat – where to escape for a while. She paused as the hologram flickered to show a white, scintillating planet located in the Outer Rim. There – there she would find some of the solitude she craved.


	2. Ben

The comfort of darkness enveloped him, but, somehow, he felt lighter than he remembered. He felt more rested now than he had in his entire life. Ben felt as if he was floating in a warm body of water like the lake he grew up playing in on Chandrila. He remembered being flung down a pit, breaking his leg and a few ribs. He recalled climbing his way back out only to find Rey lying motionless and glassy-eyed – dead – on the ground before the Emperor’s throne. Rey. She had given everything to defeat her grandfather, and he had, in turn, given her everything he had to give. She did, after all, deserve it – Rey had saved him from the darkness and brought him back to life, so to speak. She had kissed him. Force, Ben still couldn’t believe it. She had kissed him. It was the best gift she could have given him as he passed out of his existence and into the Force. 

His heart swelled with emotion as he remembered their kiss. The softness of her lips, the warmth of her body, and the earnestness with which she had pulled him towards her. He smiled – he would cherish that kiss forever. Ben opened his eyes to a black void lit dimly by a soft glowing. This isn’t what he had imagined the Living Force to be like. He had anticipated being a spirit – intangible in form but very much alive as part of the fabric of the galaxy – but this felt more solid and tangible than he imagined. He rolled onto his side and pushed himself up from the floor, looking around for direction or some indication as to where he should go. 

“Hello, Ben.” 

The voice behind Ben startled him. He turned to see a man with a soft glow outlining his figure. This was, he assumed, a Force ghost. He had read about them in his days at Luke’s temple but had never seen one in person. He carefully walked towards the figure – a man dressed in traditional Jedi robes with wavy, brown, shoulder-length hair. He was fairly handsome with a single scar across one eye to mar his otherwise perfect complexion. He was slightly shorter than Ben and looked to be about the same age; maybe a little younger. He didn’t know the man until he looked him in the eyes. Ben’s breath caught in his throat. The eyes he saw staring back at him were the same eyes that had smiled at him as a child when he would playfully torture the house protocol droids and twinkle whenever his father came home from whatever dubious venture he had been off galivanting the galaxy for. His mother – those were’s his mother’s eyes. The only logical conclusion was that this apparition was his grandfather: Anakin Skywalker.


	3. Christophsis

Crystalline gravel crunched under Rey’s boots as she leapt down from the cockpit of her commandeered First Order tie fighter. She looked out over the arid landscape of Christophsis, searching for her objective. Since she had left both Skywalker lightsabers on Exegol, her first priority was forging her own saber and her own path separate from that of the Jedi. Christophsis was a colonized planet dotted with caverns and caves filled with valuable Kyber crystals – the Force-sensitive center of every lightsaber. The sun beat down on her as she scanned the horizon until her eyes settled on a dark speck at the foot of a jagged mountain range. She wiped the sweat from her brow and set off towards the horizon. 

The shade and darkness that enveloped her as she stepped into the cave opening was a refreshing relief. Rey was hungry, thirsty, and exhausted – she hadn’t stopped for food, drink, or rest since she was last on the Falcon on Kef Bir and that was likely several day cycles ago. She had lost track of all sense of time after the events of Exegol. She closed her eyes, searching for peace and balance, but the searing wound in her soul still burned, tormenting her – it was the only thing that was keeping her going at this point. She ventured further into the cave until she heard a faint sound like a whisper. The texture of the walls of the cave was becoming less rocky and more crystalline in composition. Individual crystals were popping out from the walls, ceiling, and floor of the cave like plants and vegetation Rey had seen on Takodana or Ajan Kloss. She continued on cautiously as the sound became louder and louder until she reached the mouth of a large cavern. A small lake filled most of the expanse of the cavern with a tiny island set right in the middle. Above that island was a stalactite of Kyber that hung from the ceiling, with its tip scintillating in the darkness. She sensed that this was her crystal – it called to her. With a running start she leapt into the air and used the Force to propel herself safely over the expanse of the water and onto the island. She gazed up at the crystal, as if contemplating whether to take it or not, before reaching up and pulling it from its formation. The whispers stopped, and she quickly slipped the crystal into a pouch on her utility belt. 

Rey turned back towards the shore, but another faint whisper stopped her. A second crystal somewhere in the cave called to her. 

“How is this possible,” she thought to herself. “Certainly a Force user could only be bonded to one crystal at a time – after all, the crystal chose its master, and she had already been called by the crystal she had just pocketed.” 

She leapt back over the dark waters of the lake and backtracked through the cave until she came to a pathway she had not initially noticed on her first journey through the depths of the labyrinth. She took the alternate pathway, following the call of the second crystal. Finally, she came to a smooth wall of crystal with a structure extended outward from its face that held a second Kyber crystal. The whispers were deafening but were different in nature than the ones she had heard from the previous crystal. These whispers were softer, gentler, and kinder sounding. She reached forward and pulled the crystal from its rocky cocoon. The whispers again stopped, and she slipped the second crystal into the same pouch as the first. 

Rey fell to her knees and tears once again began to gently roll down her cheeks. 

“This is something I should have been able to do with Ben,” she mused to herself, letting herself again feel the grief and loss that pounded in her chest and tore at the edges of her wounded soul. 

Rey knew that she couldn’t continue on like this – starved and half-dead – for much longer. She needed to refresh and recharge before continuing on her quest to forge her own lightsaber. She rose from the dirt, brushed off her knees, and navigated her way out to the mouth of the cave. 

“I have to go back,” she thought begrudgingly. 

The last thing she wanted to do right now was face Finn, Rose, Poe, and the rest of the Resistance – they had, after all, left her on Exegol, presumably to die. They would have so many questions. How would she explain how she wound up with a First Order tie fighter or how she had defeated the Emperor? She wasn’t ready to share her last memories of Ben with them – she didn’t know if she ever would be. Rey sighed deeply, knowing what she had to do, and patted her pouch to make sure that her crystals were still there as she started back toward Ben's tie fighter. 

Rey had to return to Ajan Kloss to build her lightsaber.


	4. Regret

Hyperspace was a cold, barren place, and Rey was shivering in her sheer, sleeveless tunic and leggings. She had a few hours left before she would reach Ajan Kloss, so she rose from her pilot’s chair, deciding to try to get at least a little shut-eye before making planetfall. There was a small area behind the pilot’s seat that offered her a place to curl up and rest. She lovingly picked up the bundle of Ben’s clothing and extricated his shirt from the small pile, which she tenderly laid on the durasteel floor of the cockpit to serve as a makeshift pillow. She shrugged his mammoth sweater on over her head, smiling gently as she realized that the sleeves more than covered her hands and the bottom hem nearly reached her knees. Rey stuck a finger through the lightsaber-sized hole that she had burned through the shirt as well as through Ben, remembering how much rage she had felt, how quickly she had felt shame and regret as she realized that she had dealt a fatal blow, and how she had seen Ben’s face as he lay there on the Death Star wreckage, resigned to his fate. Tears welled in her eyes as she knelt down onto the floor and curled into a ball. 

She wasn’t quite sure what had come over her in that moment of weakness – when they were dueling it seemed that his heart wasn’t even in it like it had been in previous battles; he seemed to be tired of the constant fighting, and she might have been able to sense it if she hadn’t been so angry. She started to mentally chide herself for having let her emotions get the best of her just as Master Luke might have, but she stopped herself. Luke had been wrong about so many things. Her emotions had been a detriment to her on the Death Star, but they had also driven her to fight with more strength, grit, and power; her feelings of yearning and, dare she say it, love were what helped her find the energy to heal the mortal wound she had inflicted. It seemed to her, in her exhausted state, that her emotions were a valuable weapon – a tool to be wielded where necessary to gain the proper edge and increase her power. However, at the moment, she just wanted to feel nothing but the sweet nothingness of sleep. Rey closed her eyes and drifted off with tears gently rolling across her face.

*

Rey opened her eyes to find herself standing in a long hallway open to the air that was filled with marble columns, beautiful arrangements of flowers in stone vases, and the smell of saltwater in the air. This place was familiar to her – a place she had seen only once before in a vision in her hut back on Ach-To.

“No,” she thought to herself pleadingly. “Not now – I need rest and respite, not a reminder of what might have been.”

She strained in her mind against the pull of her body, but she was not in control here. She walked over to a railing and looked out over a courtyard below. There was a small little girl – maybe 2 or 3 years – who was teetering along playfully, giggling while using the Force to throw a ball back and forth with someone just out of Rey’s eyeline. The child had raven black hair that was pulled up into 3 little buns, a prominent nose, and ears that stuck out just a little too far. After catching the ball, the child lost her balance and fell back onto her rear; she began softly simpering. Her playmate emerged from the shadows to comfort her – a tall, broad-shouldered man with the same raven-colored hair, nose, and ears. Regardless of whether she had seen this vision before, Rey could spot that perfectly groomed head of hair and prominent features anywhere – Ben.

Rey’s vision blurred as she tried to remind herself that this wasn’t real – that she was sleeping aboard her TIE fighter – but somehow that only made everything worse.

“It’s ok. It’s alright, sweetheart,” Ben cooed to the child.

He picked her up, cradling her to his chest as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

“Your Papa will never let anything bad happen to you – only good things. How about we go surprise your Momma with a hug?”

Rey knew how the vision had previously ended, but something had changed. Storm clouds gathered above and thunder and lightning began to strike violently. Suddenly Rey was back on Jakku, stranded in what she surmised to be the Goazon badlands – alone. She looked down and noticed that her clothing had changed. She now wore all black, leather gloves with an ensemble that reminded her vaguely of something that Kylo Ren might have worn. She looked up to see that she was no longer on Jakku but rather at the mirror cave on Ach-To. The wall of glossy crystal before her cleared to reflect her face – tired, grim, and angry yet sorrowful. Rey held something of significant weight in her hands but was unable to glance down. However, she realized with horror what it was when she lifted her hands and slipped the object over her head. The face that stared back at her was the cracked, fearsome visage of the mask of Kylo Ren.

*

Rey woke with a start, the last remnants of an elderly voice whispering in her mind in broken Basic, “Always in motion, the future is.”

Hyperdrive alarms were beeping, signaling that she had reached her destination. She tried to push her nightmare – for lack of a better word – out of her mind as she maneuvered herself back into the pilot’s chair and looked out over the vast, green expanse of Ajan Kloss’ beautiful rainforest terrain. Any other time Rey would have been excited at the prospect of returning to the Resistance base and seeing her friends again, but nervousness, guilt, and grief sat in her gut like a rock. She still wasn’t certain what exactly she was going to tell them about what had happened on Exegol – part of her selfishly wanted to keep her last memories of Ben Solo to herself. She took a deep breath and attempted to center herself in the Force before tuning her communications frequency to the encrypted Resistance channel to let them know that she was coming in in a First Order TIE fighter.


	5. Family Ties

“Hello, Ben,” the apparition said.

Ben turned around, slight recognition forming in his eyes. “G-grandfather?” He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had heard stories about the man his grandfather had become – Darth Vader – but had never learned much about the man he was before. He was dumbfounded.

“Yes, Ben. I know – this is a lot to process,” Anakin said, stepping forward toward his grandson. “But I am glad to finally meet you. Those who have come before you into the Force – Luke and your mother – have told me so much about you, and it’s wonderful to finally meet the man who apparently takes so much after me.” 

He flashed a genuine smile that Ben could only interpret as warm and inviting. Ben took a step or two towards his grandfather, unsure of himself.

“I called to you for guidance,” Ben admitted sadly with a touch of hurt and resentment. “Since the first day that I was told that you were my grandfather. I pleaded for help – for direction – but you never revealed yourself to me. Why? You could have stopped me from becoming that monster. I was a Snoke’s puppet, and you just left me to my own fate without anyone to keep me from falling.”

Tears welled in both Ben and Anakin’s eyes.

“All is as the Force wills it.” Anakin looked coyly at the ground for a moment before drawing his eyes back to Ben. “I wanted desperately to help you – to help you avoid the same mistakes that I had made, to keep you protected from the Dark Side and its evils, to help mend your soul back together after the torture you had been subject to your entire life – but the Force willed that it was not my place. That task belonged to another.”

Realization dawned on Ben’s face.

“Rey. It was Rey,” Ben whispered under his breath.

“I may have understood your motivations and feelings, Ben, but Rey is your dyad. She is your other half in the Force, and she was the only person equipped to help bring you back from the darkness. Besides, everything that you could ever have learned from me would not have prepared you to do the one thing that I was unable to do despite all my knowledge and all my power.”

“What was that?”

“Save the woman you loved from death.” Anakin stepped forward and placed a hand on his grandson’s shoulder. “You had the strength to do something I never could, regardless of how much power I had. You chose to be a better man, despite your shortcomings, and put her before yourself. You chose the light over the darkness. You saved yourself, Ben. Rey showed you that Ben Solo still existed and gave you a reason to turn, but you made the ultimate choice.”

Ben turned and gathered his grandfather into a hug.

“Thank you, grandfather.”

Anakin hugged him back wordlessly, allowing his thoughts to drift to the woman he loved – the woman he had saved – the woman he had left behind.

When the two men finally drifted apart, Anakin said, “There’s someone else here who would like to speak with you. Someone who wishes to make amends.”

Anakin’s moved to his head to the side to look at another glowing specter of a man who appeared much older than he. Ben turned to follow his grandfather’s gaze to meet the stare of his former master.

“Hey, kid. I told you I’d see you around,” Luke said with a nonchalant shrug.

Ben clenched his teeth and balled his fists, his nails digging small divots into his palm. Somehow he found the wherewithal to breathe deeply, releasing some of his anger and finding his center in the Force before turning to face Luke.

“What could you possibly have to say to me that you haven’t said before,” he growled a low, deep timbre.

Luke continued to stare at him, as if trying to bore into his very soul and said, “We have some unfinished business.”


	6. Reunions

Rey set her TIE down on the tarmac outside the clandestine jungle hideaway of the Resistance. She took a deep breath, trying to quell the nervousness and anxiety that were rolling in the pit of her stomach. She still hadn’t decided how much to tell Finn, Rose, and Poe, and sitting in the pilot’s seat staring blankly out the transparisteel into the trees wasn’t helping her make a decision. She took another few breaths and removed Ben’s shirt, folding it back into it’s neat pile before rising to her feet and leaving the ship.

Finn and Poe had been strategizing on how best to defeat the remaining First Order planet-killing star destroyers. When the received word from the control tower that Rey was arriving in a stolen TIE fighter, they had quickly dropped their schemes and come to greet her on the tarmac. Poe kept his distance, knowing that Finn would want to be the first person to see Rey after, what they could only assume was, such a wild adventure.

No sooner had Rey’s boots hit the ground when Finn scooped her up into a hug and said, “Rey! I’m so glad you’re safe!”

Rey gave a slight smile, trying her best to put on a good front that showed that she was relatively fine.

Breaking the hug and taking a step back, Finn asked, “What happened on Exegol? How did you defeat the Emperor? Where did you get a TIE fighter?”

Rey felt herself getting lightheaded and a wave of heat rushed through her, followed by a cold, rapidly accumulating sweat. The world began to spin.

The last thing Rey heard before she lost consciousness was Poe saying, “Whoa, buddy. Give the girl a break; she literally just landed. Rey? You don’t look so good.”

*

Rey was startled awake by another nightmare – this time one where she had been the victim of the business end of the Emperor’s Force lightning. She refused to acknowledge that that – that thing – had been her grandfather or anyone related to her. Even entertaining the thought was terrifying to her. She took a moment to look around and found herself in the medbay hooked up to a variety of tubes and wires that measured her vital signs. She slowly sat up, testing her arms and torso to see if they would hold her and then her legs as she stood. The door hissed open as Rey stood, allowing Rose to enter the room.

“Hey, you’re finally up,” Rose exclaimed with glee. “Finn and Poe were worried for a minute there, but I knew you’d be just fine – just like I told them.” She lit up with a smile, proving how pleased she was that she was, once again, right.

“Hey, Rose,” Rey groaned in reply. “How long have I been out?”

“About a full standard cycle. You must have been really drained after Exegol. The doctors said that you were one of the most severe cases of dehydration they’d ever seen.”

Exegol. Rey’s heart jumped at the mention of the Sith planet, remembering how Ben had come to fight alongside her, and then sank as the throbbing ache of the torn dyad bond returned to her chest.

Seeing that Rey wasn’t feeling very talkative, Rose offered, “I can leave you alone if you need to rest some more.”

“No, it’s ok,” Rey said. “I’m actually starving. I don’t know what time it is, but I’d like to go to the mess hall to get some food. I haven’t eaten anything since – since before.”

“Let’s go then! I’ll comm the doctor on duty to let them know where you’ll be, and we can go get you all the food you can stomach!”

Rey gave a faint smile to Rose as she shuffled out the door.

*

Rose sat there, mouth agape, as Rey shoveled as much food into her mouth as it would hold. Despite being friends with her for going on 2 years, it never ceased to amaze her how much food Rey could put away in a single sitting.

“Feeling better?” Rose asked teasingly.

Rey just nodded her head and kept on shoveling. Soon after she had run out of food on her plate, Finn and Poe had walked over to their table and taken a seat.

“Strategy sessions going well,” Rose asked hopefully.

“As well as is possible right now,” Poe sighed. “We’ve just got to find the destroyers; what remains of First Order high command has gone into hiding along with their planet-killer. Without knowing the location of that last destroyer, we have nothing to go on. At this point we’re just hoping that we find them before they destroy more systems.”

Everyone at the table nodded solemnly, remaining quiet as they contemplated the gravity of the situation. Despite the fact that the Emperor was dead, the remnants of the First Order were still at large and able to cause turmoil in the galaxy.

“So,” Finn chimed in, attempting to lighten the mood, “how are you feeling, Rey? You must have really needed the rest to have slept for a full cycle.”

Rey nodded in response and said, “I’m feeling much better. I’m just ready to get back moving and training and get rid of the last of the First Order.”

Rey was deflecting. She figured that if she just kept talking about how she was ready to get back into action and keep everyone focused on the future she wouldn’t have to relive the events of Exegol or share her last memories of Ben with anyone.

“Oh, come on; you could use a break – you’ve more than earned it,” Poe said, getting up from the table and coming around behind Rey. “And besides, you haven’t told us anything about Exegol or how you defeated the Emperor. We’re all dying to hear the story.”

Poe put his hands on Rey’s shoulders, squeezing them playfully.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Rey mumbled.

She kept her eyes glued to the table. Her eyes were beginning to water, and she didn’t want to give any of her friends reason to think that anything was horribly wrong.

“Come on, it couldn’t have been that bad,” Finn added.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Rey started to tense – the grief and rage that she had been holding in since she landed on Ajan Kloss building with each entreaty.

“Guys, give her a break. She clearly isn’t ready to talk about it,” Rose chimed in, hoping to defuse what was clearly Rey beginning to be annoyed.

“Oh, yeah right,” Poe exclaimed. “If it were me, I’d be dying to tell everyone how I single-handedly defeated the Emperor and saved the galaxy.”

Rey couldn’t take it anymore. “SHUT UP,” Rey yelled.

Her rage finally boiled over. Deadly streaks of Force lightning flew from her shoulders to Poe’s hands, sending him flying backwards into a stacked set of chairs at the edge of the room. Poe groaned loudly as smoke rose from his body. Finn and Rose turned their eyes to fix on Rey, mouths hanging open in shock.

“What in the --,” Rose sputtered.

Rey’s cheeks turned bright red and the tears welling in her eyes spilled onto her cheeks as she jolted up from the table and ran out of the mess hall. She didn’t know where she intended on going, but she wanted to put as much distance between herself and her friends as possible.


	7. Mourning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all are enjoying the story so far and aren't too bored. This story is turning into a beast of a different kind -- far longer than I would have envisioned at first -- but I'm glad you all have come at least this far with me. Enjoy the latest installment. :)

Vines and branches whipped against Rey’s bare arms as she sprinted through the jungle outside the Resistance base. Tears streamed down her face, making it difficult to see where she was going. She quickly became entangled with the undergrowth and fell forward into the soft dirt. She rolled over onto her back and stared up towards the jungle canopy and sky. She couldn’t feel any disturbances in the Force around her – not any major disturbances anyway – that told her that she hadn’t been followed.

“Why would they want to check in on me,” Rey thought to herself. “I just channeled the Dark Side for the second time in the last few days in front of Poe and Finn, probably scared Rose half to death, and actually hurt Poe. They probably want nothing to do with me at this point.”

She sat up, leaning forward with her arms pulling her knees up to her chest. She sat there, head hanging down, and let the tears come – the tears that, though she had let some fall since she had survived Exegol and lost Ben, she had largely held back for the sake of time, energy, hunger, and all the other things she had to ensure before she could properly let herself feel her pain. Her body shook with sobs as she allowed herself to give in and let her sadness consume her. The walls in her mind came crashing down and the Dark Side came flooding in. A wall of energy burst outward from her, leveling all vegetation in close proximity to her still shaking frame. She tilted her head slightly to the right, and gently reached up to remove the leather strap she had wound around her upper arm. It slid to the ground, revealing the scar that the Praetorian Guard had given her on the Supremacy. She ran her thumb over it, gulping back more sobs as she recalled why she had gotten that scar in the first place and why she had covered it for the past year. It reminded her of Ben. She had covered it in hopes that she could forget about it – shut out thoughts of Ben Solo and focus her attention on the menace that was Kylo Ren – but it hadn’t worked very well. If anything it was a ritual to her – taking that leather strap on and off each time she used the refresher, washing the scar with care and reverence, remembering the hope she had had and the deep, yearning she had felt in the pit of her stomach when Kylo had offered his hand to her.

Rey turned her head away, allowing tears to once again flow freely and returning to her misery.

*

Rey blinked her eyes open. She had cried herself to sleep on the jungle floor. Her eyes were swollen and raw from crying, her throat was sore, and she had dried mucus crusting her upper lip. She rubbed her eyes in a vain attempt to soothe them and rose to her feet. The sun was just beginning to set – she had been gone for a while. She decided to locate the Falcon and make herself at least mildly presentable before letting everyone know that she was alright and trying to explain herself.

She emerged from the jungle to see a group of Resistance foot soldiers coming towards her on the tarmac, blasters in hands.

“There she is,” someone yelled.

“Stop right there,” another commanded as he aimed his blaster straight at Rey.

Confused, Rey lifted her palms to signal that she meant them no harm. They continued to keep their blasters aimed at her.

“Hand over your weapon,” a commander who Rey recognized as Captain Doza barked at her.

“I don’t have one,” Rey yelled back,

“A Jedi is never without their laser sword.”

“As much as I wish that were true, I don’t happen to have mine with me.” Rey motioned to her empty utility belt, hoping that a little humor might make the situation a little less tense. Word had clearly spread about her incident with Poe earlier that rotation. Rey could sense it through the Force – they were afraid of her. Her eyes dropped to the ground and her shoulders sagged with disappointment.

“We’ve been ordered to escort you to the command center. General Finn would like a word with you.”

Finn. Rey nodded her head. Captain Doza lowered his blaster and stepped forward with a pair of binders in his hands. Her heart froze.

“Those aren’t necessary, Captain. I won’t hurt anyone – I promise.”

“These are Force-dampening binders,” the Captain explained. “General Finn wanted us to use these just as a precaution given the…accident…this afternoon.”

Rey lost all sense of the world around her. Finn had ordered the Resistance to dampen her Force abilities and bring her to him – like he would have Kylo Ren, though Rey knew that Finn would just as soon had his head presented to him on a platter made of Aurodium than have him brought in alive. Still, Finn – her best friend – didn’t trust her enough to make the short walk to the command center without barbecuing another member of her found family.

She steeled her nerve in resolve, ground her teeth together, and said, “I won’t be going to the command center in those. I’m not a threat to you or anyone in this base. Those binders aren’t necessary.”

“Ma’am, if you don’t cooperate with us, we’ll be forced to take action.”

This clearly wasn’t going to end well, so Rey took off into a sprint across the tarmac. The Resistance opened fire. Rey deflected blaster bolts as well as she could with the Force, being as careful as she could to not hit anyone. She spotted the Falcon a few ships away from her with the boarding ramp lowered, so she changed course and headed for the ancient – but sometimes reliable – ship, hoping that Chewy wasn’t aboard at the moment. She hit the ramp at full speed, hitting the button to close the hatch as she rounded the corner towards the cockpit. Rey slid into the pilot’s seat, cursing under her breath and hoping with every fiber of her being that the Falcon was in the mood to start today. She winced as she flipped the “on” switch and sighed with relief as the thrusters roared to life. She flipped on the deflector shields and took off as quickly as she could.

As the bright blue of Ajan Kloss’ sky turned into the blackness of space, Rey let her head come down to rest on the instrument panel in front of her. That had been a disaster – but worse, she had nowhere left to go. Ben was gone, the Resistance no longer trusted her, and she had probably destroyed her friendship with Finn, Rose, and Poe. There was no where for her to go. She took a moment, meditating briefly, searching for some sense of direction from the Force – a feeling. Rey needed peace and quiet and a safe place to construct a new weapon – her own lightsaber. The feeling came to her as she turned to the nav computer and entered the coordinates for Bogano. She pulled the lever and the Falcon shot into hyperspace, leaving Ajan Kloss and the Resistance behind.


	8. Unfinished Business

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm am so enjoying writing this story, and I hope you're enjoying it too.
> 
> Enjoy the latest installment. :)

“I think any business we had left we finished on Crait,” Ben barked.

Luke shrugged his shoulders and said, “I guess that isn’t completely false, but, given this opportunity, there are some other things I’d like to say – things I’d like you to know.”

Ben relaxed himself as much as he could while eyeing his uncle suspiciously. He turned back toward his grandfather for guidance and support, but the man had vanished into thin air. His shoulders sagged with disappointment that he wouldn’t be able to talk to his grandfather further – he had so much he wanted to ask him. He turned back towards Luke, took a deep, calming breath, and said, “Out with it then.”

Luke chuckled before allowing his face to take on a more serious expression.

“Ben, I’m so sorry – for everything. I know I’ve said it before, and I know that you’re not keen on believing me, but I’d really appreciate it if you took my word for it. What I did to you was unforgivable, both as a Master and as an uncle. Your mother trusted me to care for you and to teach you the things about the Force that she and your father never could. I was able to fulfill that role for a while, but you became so powerful so quickly. I was so wrapped up in my own hubris and in the affairs of the temple that I didn’t notice the darkness closing in on you, surrounding you, and I didn’t see Snoke digging his claws into you until it was too late.

Tears sprung to Ben’s eyes at the mention of Snoke as he recalled the torture and pain he had suffered for the 6 years of his life that he was Snoke’s apprentice.

“It was my failing that brought us to this place,” Luke continued. “Not yours. That night in your hut at the temple I acted out of my own selfish fear. For a moment I allowed the Dark Side to cloud my judgment – a failing that I haven’t taken lightly – and, as a result, Kylo Ren was born.”

The name ground on Ben’s senses like a razor on a piano wire. He looked away as if he had been slapped by its mere mention.

Luke took a moment to collect his thoughts.

“Ben, you are not at fault here. Everything you have done since that night – every act of violence, every evil thing you have done – was not your fault. I betrayed you, your mother and father betrayed you. It wasn’t our intention, but we did it anyway because we were foolish, proud, and unable to see past our own noses to see you when you needed our help the most.”

Ben didn’t know what to say. This apology was far more than he had ever hoped to have gotten from his uncle. He stood there, mouth hanging slightly agape, rendered speechless.

“I know that this doesn’t absolve me of my transgressions,” Luke said after a minute of silence between the two. “But if I’ve learned one thing since I lost you to the Dark Side and exiled myself on that sacred island, its that balance is the key to living a life in which you can learn to live with yourself. Your mother and I learned that far too late – too late for us and too late to help you, but, based on the fact that you came to Rey’s rescue on Exegol, I think you’ve figured that out at least a little bit by yourself.”

“No,” Ben replied sternly, finally finding his words. “I have to close myself off from the Dark Side – it’s too dangerous for me to continue to allow it to color my decision-making. It’s taken everything from me, and I won’t allow it to do that anymore.”

Luke smirked and said, “Kid, extremes are never a good thing. The Jedi of the Republic – before the Empire – were exactly the thing that you were suggesting that you become, and where did they end up? Dead and largely forgotten. The same with the Sith is true. Technically, you were the last remaining Sith in the galaxy because of that foolish rule of two that Darth Sidious followed. Now that you’re absent the Sith are no more in the galaxy.”

Luke took a few steps closer to Ben, hoping to make his point a little more strongly.

“You and Rey brought balance to the Force, Ben. When Rey defeated Palpatine and you became one with the Force, balance was restored. There’s only one more scale that needs to be set right in the galaxy before the Force is done with you.”

Luke smiled coyly as a quizzical look crossed Ben’s face.

“What do you mean done with me? I’m one with the Force – my journey is over.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that, kid,” Luke grinned. “Why don’t you take a minute to meditate and work on projecting yourself as a Force ghost – that’d do you some good, especially in a place like this.”

With that, Luke’s apparition faded out and left Ben standing alone in the void.

“That useless old bag,” Ben mumbled as he let a small smile creep onto his face.

He was far from forgetting what Luke had done to him and had done to his life since that fateful night at the temple, but he felt at peace. He felt lighter somehow, like a weight had been lifted from his soul.

Ben decided to take Luke’s advice and meditate. After all, what else was there to do in this realm of nothingness. He sat down with his legs crossed, hands placed solidly on his knees, breathing in and out deeply – matching his breaths to the slowing beat of his heart. He began to reach out, trying to see if he could sense anything from the galaxy that he used to call home – to see if her could sense Rey and project himself to her. He wanted so desperately to see her, to make sure that she was alright.

“Rey,” he called out through the Force. “Rey, are you there?”

A voice shot back into Ben’s mind, but it hadn’t been the voice he had been expecting – it was a man’s voice, familiar. It couldn’t be him – there was no way he had been properly trained to use the Force this way.

“Who’s there? What do you want with Rey,” the voice demanded.

Ben hesitated to speak. He weighed his options before deciding to speak. The guy might be willing to divulge some information on how Rey was doing after her return from Exegol – MIGHT being the key word here. After all, by now news had to have reached the resistance of Palpatine’s death and Rey’s heroics, though he wasn’t sure if she would have told them of his presence – he didn’t feel he deserved the recognition.

“I’m looking for Rey,” Ben drawled

Before he could get a reply, Ben snapped the connection shut when he felt an unexpected presence wash over him. His eyes bolted open as he whispered, “Mom.”


	9. Bogano

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this next installment, and don't hesitate to come find me on Twitter @MilleniumPorg

The green, brown, and blue sphere of Bogano blinked into view as the Falcon came out of hyperspace. Rey had chosen to come to Bogano because she knew it was largely uninhabited planet where she would have some peace and quiet – the bright green of the thriving wetlands wasn’t hard on the eyes either. She set the Falcon down on a plateau overlooking what appeared to be the remnants of an ancient civilization; a village that hadn’t be inhabited in centuries perhaps. 

Rey had a distinct purpose in coming to Bogano, but first she needed to center herself and get clean – she smelled worse than a garbage compactor she imagined. She made her way back to the small refresher just outside of the crew quarters. She turned on the water, peeled off her clothes, now dingy from dirt and sweat, took out her buns, and stepped into the stream of water. It felt good to let hot water run over her sunkissed skin, removing the dirt, sweat, and blood that had dried there over the past few days. She savored the warmth for a moment, trying to forget the cold of Exegol, the coldness of space, and her loneliness. Her eyes bolted open. In her hurry to leave Ajan Kloss, she had forgotten her most cherished belonging – now that she no longer had a lightsaber of course – Ben’s sweater. She had left it on the floor of her commandeered TIE fighter.

“Kriff,” she swore, slamming the wall of the fresher.

She rested her head against the cool steel of the receptacle and fumed. If Finn had seen fit to trust her – if she hadn’t have had to flee the Resistance – she wouldn’t have lost the only physical remnant she had left of Ben. She was sure that the Resistance would have incinerated it by now, thinking that it was just a bunch of rags left there by the First Order pilot she had overpowered to gain control of the ship. Her hand unconsciously moved to the scar on her right arm, lingering there for a moment before slamming the wall again. She cut her shower short, cutting off the water and stepping out into the cold air.

“I deserve to be a little uncomfortable for my foolishness,” she thought to herself.

Rey dressed in an old, black shirt and pair of trousers that had been stuffed in a utility drawer and gathered her hair up in a sleek, long ponytail. She couldn’t bear the thought of keeping the clothes she had come here with, so she decided to use them to start a fire once she found her dinner.

She pressed the button to open the Falcon’s hatch and waited to set foot on Bogano.

*

Rey had found a nice, abandoned hovel – a workshop, by the looks of it – that served as her shelter for the evening. She had quickly found and killed a few Para fish for her dinner and was just polishing off the last of the flesh on their bones. After finishing, Rey reached into the pouch of her utility belt and carefully removed one of the crystals she had found on Christophsis. She sat cross-legged on a large rock, laying the Kyber crystal gently on the stone before her, and began to meditate. She had learned from the Jedi texts that she had to share her Force with the crystal so that her lightsaber would be an extension of her that she could wield in battle. She reached out in the Force, sensing the crystal as it called to her.

She thought of the light, the darkness, and balance. As her thoughts shifted to the darkness, her recent memories took over. Before she knew it, she was back on Exegol with Ben flashing his toothy smile for a second before it faded and he along with it seconds later. She relived him disappearing right before her eyes, the warmth of his hand fading from hers. She saw her vision from the hut on Ahch-To and the family she could have had with Ben. Everything – every possibility, every future, every bit of hope for a family of her own – faded away, and as the good evaporated from her consciousness, the darkness seeped in. All the sadness, grief, and rage that she had felt since she lost Ben coursed through her veins. She cursed the Jedi for using her only as a means to an end – for allowing Ben to die so that she might live. She channeled the hurt and betrayal she felt because Finn and the Resistance didn’t trust her any longer. Her eyes remained closed, tears streaming down her face, and the Dark Side of the Force sending ripples of energy out from her. The crystal levitated a few inches off the surface of the rock in front of her. She let out a violent scream, allowing the energy and anguish inside her to be released from the seemingly empty cavity that remained in her chest. The Kyber screamed along with her. 

When she let go Rey toppled forward, falling headfirst off the rock and onto the filthy ground of the hovel. Her eyes bolted open, wildly searching for her crystal. She was certain that she must have knocked it somewhere in the shuffle. She turned around to find it right where she had left it – lying on the stone – except its color had changed. Fear bubbled up inside her as she carefully picked up the crystal and held it in her palm, allowing its natural glow to bathe her features blood red in the darkness.

*

Rey was astounded. She had bled her crystal. It wasn’t at all what she had intended to do, but here she was, standing in shock, with a blood red Kyber crystal in hand. She should have been ashamed, disappointed even, but instead she felt fear mingled with a small sense of pride. The Light had failed her; it had used her, chewed her up, and spit her out, leaving her angry and alone. A small smile crossed her face as she slowly accepted the outcome of her meditation with her crystal, allowing its dark signature in the Force to mingle with hers.

She grabbed a bin of old tools and machined parts that she had brought from the Falcon and got to work piecing together her lightsaber. She disassembled the staff she had brought from Jakku and used the casing as the hilt of the saber. She worked through the night, soldering, laying wire, and screwing things into place – this was one of many parts of being a Force wielder where Rey was able to use her technical skills to her advantage. Right before dawn, Rey laid down her tools, admiring her handiwork. Before her laid one end of what remained of her staff. It now held her crystal and as much wiring as it could handle. She had used two odd pieces of Haysian smelt as an emitter shroud and inlaid Rhodium into the grip. She gently picked the hilt up from the workbench, examining it closely before deciding that her handiwork was sufficient not to kill her upon ignition.

Rey thumbed the emitter switch and two bright red beams shot out from the hilt – one at each end. She smiled, admiring it for a moment before thumbing it off again. She clipped her new weapon to her belt and gathered her things, using the Force with her off hand to put out what remained of her fire from the evening prior. She made her way back up to the Falcon. Now that she had a proper weapon, Rey needed to find a new purpose in the galaxy, and she knew just where to find it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that the black outfit that Rey found on the Falcon was the one that Luke wears in ROTJ. That's just my headcanon though. ;)


	10. Mom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for this update -- I had an awful case of writer's block and couldn't divine the proper words for this chapter. Here's to hoping that I did this long-awaited reunion justice.

Ben whipped his head around to see the glowing Force manifestation of his mother. Tears sprang to his eyes. This was the first time he had seen her since, well, since before he had turned and left Luke’s temple – 6 or 7 years at least and then some. He slowly got to his feet and moved towards his mother. He could barely look her in the eye – all the shame and regret that he felt towards her bubbled to the surface as tears rolled down his cheeks. Leia stepped forward and lifted his chin to look her son in the eye. She gave him a sly smile.

“Mom,” he gasped as he pulled her into a hug and began sobbing into her shoulder.

It took him a long moment to collect himself before he could find words again.

“I’m so sorry, Mom. I did so much – And Dad –“

“You’re forgiven,” Leia said lovingly. “You always have been.”

“But all the awful things I’ve done – all the mistakes I’ve made. I murdered my own father.”

Leia set her jaw, took Ben’s face in her hands, and said, “You are my one and only son. There is nothing you could do that would be unforgivable or that would make me love you any less.” She paused for a moment. “In regards to your father, he would have done anything to bring you home to us – to me. That was his only concern when he came to confront you, and he would be so proud of you for finding the strength to free yourself from Snoke’s influence and find your way back to the light.”

Ben tried to smile as his upper lip quivered. He was on the verge of tears again – happy tears. He hugged his mother again.

“I thought for so long that I couldn’t come home – that you couldn’t love the monster I had become.”

“You were never truly a monster, Ben. You had only forgotten who you were, and that was partially my doing. To be honest, the mess you found yourself in was my fault, your father’s fault, Luke’s fault – basically all the responsible adults in your life failed to care for you the way you deserved. We never should have sent you away. I should have told you about your grandfather long before you had the chance to hear it on the holonet. I should have focused less of my energy on the New Republic and more on you and your needs – you were a special kid.”

“I always understood, Mom. No matter how much it hurt me to see you and Dad off away from home, I knew you were doing it for a noble reason.”

“That’s no excuse,” Leia mused, lips pursed in self-reflection. “There were and always will be a million good excuses to fight for the galaxy, but I only have one you. I should have recognized that sooner. I know ‘shoulds’ mean nothing now, but I’m sorry, Ben – for abandoning you when you needed me most, for not being a better mother, for making literally everything else a priority above you.”

Tears were in Leia’s eyes. She sniffed for a moment, wiping her tears, before she reached into a fold in her flowing white gown and produced two lightsabers. Ben stared in shock as she handed them to him.

“Where in the galaxy did you find those? And whose saber is that?” Ben wondered aloud, surprise in his voice.

Leia smirked.

“The one you don’t recognize is mine. I trained with Luke to become a Jedi when you were very young – probably too young to remember.”

Ben’s eyes widened as he tried to process this information. Of course – it was obvious now. How had he not sensed that his mother was Force sensitive?

“To answer your second question, I got these from Exegol. Rey left them there after you – well, you failed to resist the pull of the Force here.”

He didn’t know what to say.

“Why would Rey just leave these on Exegol?”

Ben began to feel fear creep in. He didn’t know what to make of Rey leaving her weapons, but it didn’t signal anything good. He had to make it back to her – if only in ghost form – to make sure that she was alright, that she was safe and sound.

“How do I do the Force ghost thing you’re doing?” Ben demanded of his mother. “Where is here?”

“Hold on, nerf herder,” Leia said with a smile and a laugh. “You don’t need to do this, as you so eloquently put it, ‘Force ghost thing’ because you’re not dead. You just need another Force user’s intervention to help you get out of here. Here being the World Between Worlds.”

“I’M NOT DEAD?” he yelped.

Ben couldn’t believe his ears.

“I vaguely remember reading about the Netherworld of Unbeing in one of Luke’s old Jedi texts. Is this the same thing?”

“Yes. We currently stand in a plane between life in the Force and death in the Force. I mean, technically you’re not alive, either, but you’re definitely not dead.”

A smile spread across Ben’s face – the first his mother had seen since he was a child.

“Mom, I love you, but I have to try to help Rey. I think she might need my help.”

“Go, meditate.” Leia said. “Rey is your family now. Return to her, help her, and, please give me some grandchildren at some point.”

Ben rolled his eyes – embarrassed, annoyed, and amused – and hugged his mother one last time. He finally released her after a few moments and watched her fade into the darkness. He felt a new determination and purpose as he clipped the lightsabers to his belt, knelt to the ground, and fell into the familiar breathing patterns that initiated a meditative state. He would try to contact Rey directly again, but, if all else failed, he knew there was at least one Force sensitive individual who he could use to his advantage.


	11. A Fact-Finding Mission

Rey stood, staring out over the arid, irradiated wasteland that remained of Ossus from the ledge of a stone outcropping. Her black cloak flapped gently behind her in the breeze. She had made a short stop on Ryloth to grab some supplies and had seen the cloak for sale in a shop and spent the last of her remaining credits on it – the anonymity it brought her was worth it. She brought her macrobinoculars to her face and scanned the horizon for any sign of the First Order. There hadn’t been any First Order craft orbiting the planet, but that didn’t guarantee that they didn’t have a presence there. After a few minutes of searching the horizon, she slammed the power button and angrily threw the binoculars back in her bag.

She had been to most of the Outer Rim territories that she had thought the First Order might have had control over – Typhon, Utapau, Rodia, Cadomai Prime; the list went on and on – but had been unable to locate any First Order troops. The closest she came was an abandoned First Order AT-AT that had tipped over on Gamorr. Rey considered the Jedi to be extinct. They had used her as a receptacle for their power in order to defeat the Emperor and then left both her and Ben to die on Exegol – she would not continue their legacy. Rage and grief boiled inside her. The only people left to serve penance for the destruction that they had caused were the First Order. She would ensure that they saw justice – if not for their role in the destruction of the galaxy, for the manipulation and torture of Ben Solo. If that justice ended up being the blade of her saber, then so be it.

Rey stalked back to the Falcon. She had one last stop to make in the Outer Rim before venturing further towards the Core Worlds. She sat in the pilot’s chair and leaned forward onto the console. She was tired, frustrated, and lonely. She took a deep breath and reached out with the Force. She had been able to reach Luke in his Force ghost form before, so she couldn’t think of any reason why she wouldn’t be able to summon Ben – he was her dyad after all. Nothing. She hadn’t been very hopeful, but her inability to reach Ben in the afterlife still stung. She wiped the gathering tears from her eyes and took off in the Falcon to make her last planned Outer Rim stop.

*

A sparse, black planet blinked into view as the Falcon came out of Hyperspace. Rey had come to Malachor to search for the First Order but also because she had learned some interesting things about it as she had read through the Jedi Texts. She was fueled by curiosity more than anything. Malachor had been a Sith stronghold for thousands of years until they had been wiped out.

She disembarked from the Falcon, feeling the gritty ash under her boots. The planet felt cold with actually being cold in temperature. A shiver ran down her spine as she briefly regretted cutting the sleeves off of her tunic – it was worth it, she thought to herself, so that anyone who noticed her beyond the cloak could see her scar; the scar that reminded her of Ben. She climbed up to the nearest vantage point and removed her macrobinoculars from her bag. She scanned the horizon just as she had on every other planet she visited and saw no sign of the First Order.

Rey was just about to lower her binoculars when she spotted some movement at the edge of her field of vision. She turned and zoomed in.

“There you are,” she murmured to herself with a satisfied smirk.

A lone First Order trooper in all black armor had just rounded the corner of the giant pile of rubble that jutted out from Malachor’s otherwise relatively flat landscape. He likely wasn’t alone; she hoped that they hadn’t seen her come in with the Falcon – it stuck out like a sore thumb against the dark surface of the planet. Rey packed her macrobinoculars away and unclipped her lightsaber from her belt. She jumped down from the small ridge she had been perched on and silently made her way towards the trooper, doing her best to avoid the many sinkholes that dotted the scorched landscape.

The trooper had disappeared from view by the time Rey made the trek over to the remains of what she assumed was once a Sith temple. She peered around a corner to scout out the location and was met with a blaster bolt to the shoulder. Pain coursed through her. They had seen her coming and had lain in ambush until she had fallen into their trap. Rey felt anger seep in – she was a Force user and a scavenger, she should know better than to fall for this. She spent a little of her energy to reduce the pain radiating from her shoulder as she activated a single blade of her lightsaber. She rounded the corner, deflecting bolts as fast as she could. She counted 29 troopers dressed identically in black armor – Rey had never seen troopers dressed like this – and could only assume that they were some specialized class of trooper.

She deflected their bolts until she reached the closest cadre. She lifted one off his feet with the Force and flung him full force onto a sharp rock jutting out of the ground while using her other hand to plunge her saber into another’s chest. Rey continued her assault, slicing and carving her way through the troopers until 28 bodies lay at her feet. The remaining trooper she froze in place as she strode confidently up to him. If he was afraid, he didn’t show it.

“Where can I find the First Order command hub?” Rey demanded.

The trooper remained defiantly silent. Rey became impatient – she felt conflicted as to whether she should try to extract the information she needed from him, but the coldness of Malachor crept into her consciousness and the conflict evaporated.

“I’ll ask once again. Where is the First Order command hub?”

The trooper remained silent. Without hesitation Rey flicked her wrist and severed one of the trooper’s legs at the knee. The trooper cried out but remained immobile in her grasp.

“Where is the command hub?” she asked again.

Nothing. Another flick of the wrist and another severed leg falling to the ground. Rey approached the trooper, gently removed their helmet, and dropped it to the ground. The eyes staring defiantly back at her were those of a young man – he looked to be a little older than Ben might have been. He reminded her vaguely of Finn, but she pushed the thought out of her mind.

“I can take whatever I want from you,” Rey whispered. “And I don’t need any of your limbs to do that, so we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

She sensed fear in the trooper, but he remained as silent as ever. With a frustrated sigh, Rey plunged into the trooper’s mind, tearing haphazardly through his mind until she came to the information she was looking for. She gasped and allowed her eyes to refocus as she emerged from the trooper’s mind. She looked up at the trooper – he was taking heaving breathes and babbling incoherently. She let him fall to the ground and turned back towards the Falcon. He would eventually be found when his unit failed to check in with First Order command and they sent a platoon to check their status.

Rey clipped her lightsaber back onto her belt as she climbed up the Falcon’s boarding ramp. Her expression was grim, but a slight smile spread across her face as the Falcon rose from Malachor’s surface and made its way into orbit. She shook her head as she reached the cold void of space.

“What is wrong with me?” she murmured to herself as she cradled her head in her hands.

She lifted her head from her hands for a moment and just stared at them. She had just killed an entire unit of First Order stormtroopers and tortured one to the point of insanity. Her hands were shaking as she balled them up into fists. She set the coordinates and made the jump to Hyperspace. As the stars bled into blue streaks of light, Rey stood and made her way back to the ‘fresher. She stripped off her clothing, turned on the shower, and sat under the stream of water. Rey had never felt so alone in all her life.


	12. Ahch-To

Ben reached out in the Force but still couldn’t sense Rey. He was disappointed but wasn’t completely caught off guard, so he took a few more breaths before reaching out again – this time to the person he had reached before. He would have to tread carefully if this was going to work, but he was confident that he could get the help he needed to escape the World Between Worlds. It took a moment, but, as the connection came to life, Ben calmed his mind and prepared to speak.

*

Finn sat alone in the Resistance command center on Ajan Kloss with his head resting on one hand as the other absentmindedly toyed with his commlink. It was late at night, and, when his tossing and turning had woken Rose more than once, he had come here to think. He felt guilty – guilty that he had told Captain Doza to bring Rey in in Force-dampening binders. Word of Rey’s outburst and Poe’s subsequent trip to the infirmary had spread like fire through the base, and he had thought that removing Rey’s Force abilities from the equation would go a long way towards quelling any concerns members of the Resistance had. He was, after all, a general now – someone that Resistance soldiers looked to for guidance and support. He didn’t want to seem like he was playing favorites after Rey had seemingly attacked Poe – he knew that wasn’t the case, but he also knew that no one would believe it after the holorecording of the incident had circulated around the base. He breathed a heavy sigh before standing to take a walk.

He made his way out onto the tarmac and had just passed the first X-Wing parked for the night when he began to hear whispers of the voice again. He looked around cautiously to make sure that he was alone before saying, “Who’s there?”

“Where’s Rey,” Ben said, hoping that Finn wouldn’t recognize his voice.

“Are – are you the voice of the Living Force?”

Rey had taught Finn a few things about the Force in the year since the Battle of Crait, and he felt surprised and honored to be hearing from the Force directly.

Ben rolled his eyes under his eyelids, doing his best to not let his distaste for FN-2187 creep into his voice. He wanted so badly to mock the traitor and pretend to be the voice of the Force – even though such a thing didn’t exist – but, knowing that Rey wouldn’t approve, he soldiered on with his original plan.

“No,” Ben replied. “I am a fellow Force sensitive who has passed on into the Force. In the netherworld of the Force I have sensed a disturbance surrounding Rey and would like to offer her assistance in her struggle against the Dark Side and the First Order.”

Ben waited for a moment with bated breath. He continued to hope desperately that FN-2187 didn’t recognize his voice and that he hadn’t said anything that would jeopardize the end goal. If he figured out who the disembodied voice belonged to before the time was right, he might never be able to escape the World Between Worlds.

“Oh,” Finn replied. “Well, I don’t know where Rey is. There was an…accident…on the base and she took off in the Falcon. It was all my fault.”

Ben gritted his teeth and steeled himself. He could deal with FN-2187 if need be once he had served his purpose.

“Then we must find her,” Ben said. “But first the Force would like to imbue you with knowledge and wisdom to aid you in locating Rey.”

“Thank you,” Finn said with surprise.

“You must travel to the Ahch-To system and locate the island of Luke Skywalker’s exile – the site of the first Jedi Temple. Nearby you will find a Mirror Cave. It is there that you will find the enlightenment you seek.”

With that Ben severed the connection. He vaguely remembered reading about Ahch-To in the Jedi Texts as one of the planets that was suspected to serve as a portal to the Netherworld of Unbeing. Remembering his conversation with Rey through their Force connection, he had been able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He opened his eyes and sighed. All there was to do now was wait, hoping that FN-2187 would be able to find the island and complete the task.

*

Finn felt a new rush of purpose and excitement as he sprinted back to the command center. He sent a short communique to both Poe and Rose’s datapads telling them he’d be gone for a cycle or two but would be back soon and that they shouldn’t worry. He hopped into a stolen First Order Xi-class shuttle that he thought wouldn’t be missed and took off for Ahch-To. Rey had brought him with her on a short visit to Luke’s sacred island when she was looking for any remaining Jedi relics to help with her training, so he was familiar with the system and the location of the island in question. He just hoped that he would be able to find Rey and tell her how sorry he was – for everything. He punched in the coordinates, engaged the hyperdrive, and watched the stars streak into oblivion.

*

Finn set the ship down on a small plateau close to the water that looked big enough and sturdy enough to accommodate the shuttle. He strode down the boarding ramp and looked out over the lush, green, rocky island. Part of him hoped that he would find Rey here – she did, after all, love any place that pushed any memories of Jakku from her mind. He started off towards the hill where he remembered the small number of huts were located and continued on towards the beach. He figured that a Mirror Cave would probably be somewhere close to the water. He saw a small village inhabited by what appeared to be aliens of some variety that were part of a religious order before he turned back. He searched the beach past where he had ventured down onto it only to come across the hulking, charred corpse of a First Order TIE Fighter – Kylo Ren’s TIE. A chill crept down Finn’s spine.

“What is Kylo Ren doing here?” he murmured to himself.

“And is he still here?” he thought.

He broke out into a jog, continuing to search for the Mirror Cave but keeping an eye out for Ren. After several hours of searching, Finn finally made his way down to a small hole in the rock that was rimmed with wet, black seaweed. He tried to get a good view of the area underneath from an angle and could see that the water met a stone ledge. He wasn’t sure whether this was the right place. He paused for a moment, reached out in the Force with the minimal skill that Rey had taught him in the past year, and felt a sense of beckoning. Without hesitation Finn jumped through the hole and into the water. The cold hit him like a speeder; he gasped for air as he resurfaced, thankful that he had learned to swim as part of his Stormtrooper training. After a moment of regaining his bearings, he swam over to the stone ledge and pulled himself up.

There it was – the mirror. It crudely reflected Finn’s face back at him. He studied it for a moment, not sure how to proceed. The voice hadn’t told him what to do once he reached the Mirror Cave.

“Hello?” he called out. “I’m here.”

There was no reply. He shrugged his shoulders, discouraged. His momentary failure ended shortly as he noticed a large figure in the mirror whose silhouette he couldn’t quite make out. He gathered his courage, stepped forward, and did the only thing he could think to do given the circumstances – he reached out and touched the surface of the mirror.

*

The space in front of Ben’s large, meditating frame transformed in front of him. The slight disturbance in the air alerted him, and he opened his eyes to see an opaque, mirror-like portal appear in front of him that was rimmed in a bright, white design. He stood and approached the portal to see the figure of what appeared to be an adult human or humanoid male. The traitor had made it after all. He let a small smile cross his face for a fleeting second before he focused on the task at hand. As soon as he emerged from the World Between Worlds, his primary objective would be likely be to convince FN-2187 not to kill him. He took a deep, calming breath, stepped forward, and touched the opaque surface of the portal.


	13. Surrender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers! It's time to bring the rest of the players into the story in a more significant capacity! I love, love, love FinnPoe, but I chose to go with FinnRose for this particular story since we're following the relationship set up in TLJ. They are super cute together, though. ^_^ Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope that the characterization of Finn, Poe, and Rose are accurate here. I struggled a little bit with them since they aren't my favorites of the ST, but I feel happy with the end result.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

The mirror in front of Finn dissolved into thin air at his touch, and much to his surprise, Kylo Ren himself appeared, devoid of his usual, frightening visage. Finn stood there for a moment, mouth agape, unable to process what he was seeing. After a moment he found the self-awareness to pull his blaster and demand, “What are you doing here, Ren?”

Ben raised both of his hands in surrender. “FN – Finn, right?”

“What are you doing here?” he demanded again.

“I’m sorry I deceived you, but I needed another Force user to help me pass from the World Between Worlds into the physical world, and as you told me, Rey wasn’t exactly available.”

Finn kept his blaster expertly trained towards Ben’s chest, though he was intrigued. He didn’t know what in the galaxy Ren was going on about, but he did know that Ren was powerful enough to stop a blaster bolt, so what was stopping him from attacking and murdering him in cold blood like all the other unfortunate souls who had crossed his path?

“I know you don’t trust me,” Ben continued. “I don’t blame you, but I’m telling you that I am no longer your enemy. My only concern is Rey.”

Finn raised an eyebrow.

“How do I know you’re not lying? How do I know that you’re not going to kill me, massacre the Resistance, and kill Rey too?”

Ben moved a hand towards his waist, gently using the Force to unclip his lightsabers from his belt and floating them down towards the ground. He used a foot to kick them over towards Finn.

“It’s a long story.”

Ben paused for a moment, unsure of how to continue.

“Consider Kylo Ren dead. I am Ben Solo.”

Finn stood there for a moment before laughing.

“You’ve got to think that I’m a complete moof milker to believe that. You? Han and Leia’s son?”

Ben grit his teeth, his frustration growing.

“Yes; it’s the truth.”

“No. There’s no way that that’s true,” Finn yelled.

Irritated with the speed with which the confrontation was resolving, Ben extended a hand and reached into Finn’s mind as gently as he could given the circumstances. He showed him superficial memories of his childhood with Han and Leia, his murder of Snoke on the Supremacy, and his memories of he and Rey battling Palpatine on Exegol and how he had revived her. He left out their kiss – it was none of the traitor’s business. He let his arm drift back to the raised position as he left Finn’s mind.

Finn staggered backwards slightly, his blaster dipping towards the ground. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen – if he could believe it. For all he knew, Ren could be planting lies into his mind, but somehow, Finn could sense that that wasn’t the case. It would, after all, explain, to some extent, Rey’s odd behavior when she had returned to the base. He gathered himself and lifted his blaster once more.

“I don’t trust you, Ren, but I believe you.”

“It’s Ben. Like I said, Ren is dead.”

Finn picked the lightsabers up, keeping his eyes and blaster trained on Ben, and clipped them to his own belt.

“Ben. Well then, Ben, are you going to come willingly with me as a prisoner?”

“Whatever it takes. I need to find Rey. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen and to make amends. If that means I have to be a prisoner for the time being, then so be it.”

“My ship is located across the island. Let’s get going, then.”

Finn kept his blaster pointed at Ben, and Ben kept his hands up in surrender as they crossed the island. Once on the shuttle, Finn found a spare set of binders and cuffed Ben in the passenger area of the shuttle. Ben didn’t resist. Satisfied with how docile Ben was being, Finn returned to the cockpit of the shuttle and took off. He set a course for Ajan Kloss and made the jump to hyperspace.

*

Poe had awoken when his chrono alarm beeped to a short communique from Finn letting him know that he was leaving the base and would be back after a short jaunt off planet. He had rubbed the sleep from his eyes, completed his morning routine, and made it to the command center armed with a large mug of caf. His morning had been filled with several high-level meetings and lunch with Lieutenant Connix. He smiled as he strode back to the command center with a smile on his face. He really liked Kaydel and, now that the First Order was on the defensive and all but defeated, he could start to imagine a life outside of the Resistance for the first time in his life. His thoughts were interrupted as he returned to the command hub. Finn was radioing in his return to Ajan Kloss.

Poe could sense from Finn’s voice that something was off.

“What’s going on, buddy?” Poe asked through the comm.

“Uhh, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but just promise me that you’ll bring some back up and some Force-dampening binders when we disembark.”

“We? Who’s with you?”

Finn paused for a moment.

“You’ll just have to see it to believe it, Poe. Just promise me you won’t let anyone blast us to oblivion when we come out.”

Poe quizzically raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.

“Whatever you say, General.”

With that, Poe gathered a handful of men and women, including Rose, armed with blasters, grabbed the base’s only pair of Force-dampening binders, and set out towards the tarmac. Finn had just set down his First Order shuttle when the gaggle of Resistance troops reached the landing zone. Poe was eager to see what surprise Finn had in store for them. The boarding ramp slowly lowered with a rush of steam. Through the steam appeared Finn pulling a considerably large man with a tangled mass of raven black hair.

“We meet again, pilot,” Ben said in a teasing tone.

Poe froze. He knew that voice; he had just never seen the face behind the mask. He raised his blaster – his finger trembling over the trigger.

“Ren,” Poe spat through barred teeth.

“Whoa,” Finn yelled. “Hold it! He’s here as a prisoner. He surrendered himself and his weapons to me voluntarily. According to him, Kylo Ren is as good as dead; he’s asked to be referred to by his given name – Ben Solo”

Whispers shot through the small crowd gathered around the shuttle. Poe kept his blaster trained on Ben’s head and moved forward, throwing the Force-dampening binders to Finn.

“I don’t care what name he’s using at the moment. Throw those on him and take him to the detention center.”

Finn clamped the binders down on Ben’s wrists and released the standard binders that had been confining him before passing him off to two officers to be escorted to his cell. Rose ran up to Finn and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“How in the galaxy did you come across Kylo Ren,” Rose asked.

“Yeah,” Poe chimed in. “How did that happen?”

Finn ruffled his own hair and said, “I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you. Give me a few hours to grab some sleep, and I can tell you my part of the story. I still don’t know if I can trust anything that…Ben…says, but I suggest you talk to him. He showed me some things when he gave himself up – things I wouldn’t have thought possible – but I think he’s telling the truth. It’d explain a lot about Rey’s recent behavior and some things about Leia.”

Poe perked up at the mention of Leia.

“Solo. You said he wants to be called Ben Solo.”

Poe wanted more information. He couldn’t come to terms with a scenario where Kylo Ren, the fearsome Supreme Leader of the First Order, was somehow related to Han Solo or how Rey figured into the equation.

Rose, sensing his confusion, said, “It doesn’t sound like it’s Finn’s story to tell. You should talk to…Ben…like he said.”

Poe shrugged and began walking back towards the base. Finn and Rose followed, hand in hand.

*

The cell door hissed shut as Ben sat down on the cot that was set up against the far wall. The Force-dampening binders had been removed, but he had spotted capsules attached to the wall outside the cell containing ysalamiri. He had learned of ysalamiri and their Force-neutralizing properties through his surveillance of Hux’s datafiles over the years. The general had been searching for a way to neutralize his Force abilities since Snoke’s demise in order to stage a coup but had been killed before he was able to put the information to good use.

It felt odd to be without the Force. For the first time in his life, Ben couldn’t sense the environment around him. It was almost a relief. As long as he could remember, there was turbulence in his mind – voices, thoughts, feelings, schemes. Now it was blank. There was nothing to sense and nothing to be on guard for. It was unsettling but peaceful. Ben sighed. He laid down on the cot and drifted off to a sleep free from the burden of the Force with pleasant memories of Rey floating through his head.


	14. The Derriphan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write. Delving into Rey's feelings of abandonment and, frankly, depression was tough, but I think it'll ultimately make the payoff even sweeter. I hope you all enjoy this shorter installment.

Rey had spent the majority of the trip through hyperspace in the ‘fresher just sitting idly under the stream of water, tracing her fingers along her scar. She couldn’t quite come to terms with what she had done on Malachor. She was grieving and angry, but she never thought that she could be capable of the violent torture she had inflicted on that stormtrooper. 

“If only Ben were here,” she thought to herself. “He would understand.”

She tried to shake the feelings of guilt and conflict as she toweled off and redressed. She returned to the cockpit, staring out at the blue streaks of hyperspace light. Normally she would take the remaining time in hyperspace to meditate and commune with the Force, but Rey was feeling the weight of its burden. She had been a capable fighter and scavenger before she discovered her Force abilities – life on Jakku necessitated those skills for survival – but she felt like the Force was what made her worthy now, as if she was relatively useless without it. The Resistance probably would never have cared to invest time and manpower into her training if she were the ordinary scavenger that she had always thought she was. She had thought Finn was different.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the beeping of the hyperdrive computer, letting her know that the Falcon was set to come out of hyperspace. She looked up to see the green and blue orb of Pillio zoom into view. The stormtrooper whose mind she had searched said that the First Order command hub had been relocated to the last remaining Xyston-class star destroyer, Derriphan, which had fled the remains of Kijimi and been orbiting Pillio since the Battle of Exegol. Rey had been prepared to take evasive action upon arriving to avoid being seen, but it appeared that the destroyer was orbiting on the other side of the planet at the moment. She breathed a sigh of relief – one less thing to worry about.

Rey navigated the Falcon into Pillio’s orbit and increased the thrust. She would easily be able to intercept the Derriphan with a ship as fast and light as the Falcon. She fastened her cloak around her shoulders and double-checked that her lightsaber was clipped securely to her belt. All that was left to do for the moment was wait and go over her plan a few more times.

She intended to access the interior of the ship via a maintenance hatch close to the rear of the ship. Most star destroyers of that size had a hatch and corresponding tunnel for repairs and maintenance of the thrusters and propulsion system. In her years with the Resistance she had learned that First Order protocol was to orbit occupied planets within the atmosphere, so she would easily be able to latch on to the destroyer with the Falcon and open the necessary hatch. After that she would make her way to the command bridge to bring justice to the remaining members of First Order command. She planned to scuttle the ship on Pillio to destroy the last operating remnants. It was a bold plan and would be difficult to accomplish without reinforcements, but Rey felt indifferent to the risks. She could succeed and get justice for Ben, but she could also be killed in the attempt. If everything went sour and she ended up dead, she knew she would be one with the Force – she’d be with Ben again; she wouldn’t be alone anymore. No one would miss her, and no one would grieve her.

She turned her attention back to the Falcon and pushed the thrust control further forward.

*

Rey dropped down into the propulsion maintenance area, the loud humming of the thrusters drowning out her own thoughts. Her plan had been perfect. The Derriphan was orbiting Pillio inside the atmosphere, and the hatch had been exactly where she had anticipated. There was no chance that the First Order could be aware of her intrusion. She drew her hood up over her head and proceeded cautiously down the darkened corridor, igniting one end of her lightsaber to light the way. The shoulder that had been injured on Malachor ached terribly. Normally she would have taken the time to heal her injury, but she didn’t want to waste the energy – she would need all of it that remained to complete her mission. The passageway eventually dead-ended with a small door that opened to a well-lit hallway with similar entryways lining it on both sides. Rey deactivated her saber and inched her head out to check that the coast was clear only to quickly bob back out of site. Two stormtroopers exited one of the doors. From their conversation it seemed that they were on their way to the mess hall. She inferred that this must be the stormtrooper living quarters – great.

“Kriff,” she swore under her breath.

Rey peeped her head out one more time and, sensing no further movement nearby, crept out into the hallway. She was able to make it around the corner and up the length of a similarly laid-out hallway before she had to jump behind a structural beam to avoid two more troopers returning from their shift. Her journey continued this way until she reached the nearest turbolift. She cautiously entered an empty lift and gently removed the control panel casing. Turbolifts on this ship were set up to only activate when a First Order security chip was scanned on entry, but Rey bypassed the system manually and set it to take her to the command deck. The lift hummed to life and jolted upward as she carefully replaced the panel.

The lift slowed to a stop and the door hissed open. When Rey looked out from the life she could see a long corridor of that appeared to open up onto the command bridge, based on the number of black uniformed officers she saw milling about at the end of the hall. With her jaw set, she confidently stepped out of the lift. A moment later a blaster bolt whizzed past her head. She turned in the direction that the blast had come from to see a platoon of stormtroopers, weapons drawn. She drew her lightsaber and ignited both blades. Rey charged the stormtroopers, deflecting as many bolts as she could. As she reached them, she dropped to the floor, sliding forward, spinning her saber over her head, and slicing mercilessly through flesh. She planted her foot, lurching her body back upright and using her momentum to slam an elbow into the nearest trooper while using her off hand to throw her lightsaber past a line of troopers, slicing through their necks and separating head from body. She called her saber back to her using the Force and, in her line of sight, saw several more platoons of troopers running towards her. The entire destroyer had to be on alert and know she was here by now.

Rey kept fighting – mowing through trooper after trooper until she had made it back to the turbolift area and made progress towards the command bridge. She had just skewered a trooper behind her while slamming another against the ceiling when she felt it. The constant pressure and searing pain she had felt in her chest since Exegol evaporated. Her pupils dilated and her breathing hitched. She stood frozen in the middle of her assault. She could almost feel the tug of their bond.

“Ben,” she breathed.

The distraction was enough. Two blaster bolts found their mark – one struck her in the abdomen and another grazed the left side of her head. Rey crumpled to the ground, crying out in pain. She lay on the cool steel of the floor fighting for consciousness. The last thing she saw before the darkness took over was a blurry figure in First Order black officer garments that said, “Take her to the Supreme Leader’s interrogation suite.”


	15. The Truth Comes Out

Poe and Rose sat stunned and silent on the edge of their seats. Finn had had an opportunity to rest and had just finished recounting everything from the past day or so – from the voice he had heard until he had returned to the base with Ben. They were stunned, especially Poe.

“You can use the Force,” Poe asked.

“Well, I can…feel things. Things that I normally shouldn’t be able to feel. Rose knows this, but I’ve been trying to learn what I can about the Force so that, when all this was over, Rey could teach me some of what she knows. I don’t actually know how to make use of the power and energy of the Force that I can sense.”

They were interrupted when Connix entered the room.

“Lieutenant Connix,” Poe said. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

Finn and Rose rolled their eyes. It was pretty clear that Poe had a thing for Kaydel, and he was not the smoothest talker when it came to women he was attracted to – though Poe would be the first person to dispute that fact. Connix smiled.

“General Dameron, General Finn, we just received a transmission from a contact in the Core Worlds. They think they’ve found the location of the Derriphan. There is a Xyston-class star destroyer that looks to have planet killer capabilities orbiting within the planet’s atmosphere without any additional tactical support by the looks of it.”

Poe and Finn looked at each other.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Poe replied. “I will be at the command center shortly; I have some unfinished business to complete.”

Connix nodded, turned, and left.

“I guess now is the time to go talk to the prisoner,” Poe admitted. “I’ve been dreading it given the last time I came face-to-face with that monster, but, if anything that you’ve told me is true, then maybe he’ll be willing to cooperate.”

Poe got up and left the room, leaving Finn and Rose alone.

“Ben’s behavior doesn’t make any sense,” Rose said as soon as Poe had left the room.

“What do you mean,” Finn replied, puzzled. “He turned back to the Light. He wants to help Rey and the Resistance restore peace to the galaxy.”

“Yes, but he’s not stupid. He knows that this all likely ends with us demolishing everything that he’s worked for with the First Order, as well as his execution. The desire to do good doesn’t seem like a strong enough reason for him to come back. He could have lived out the rest of his days in exile, but he chose to come back and fight.”

Finn was visibly confused.

“I mean, he’s consistently asked about Rey the entire time. It seems like he’s more interested in making sure that Rey is ok.”

“Does he know that Rey isn’t here?”

“Yeah. I told him that the first time he contacted me through the Force.”

“Finn, I think he loves her. Why else would he risk everything to see her – to ensure that she’ll be ok when he’s gone?”

“No,” Finn said. “I don’t believe that. He’s probably just out for revenge on the First Order or something. Besides, Rey would never reciprocate feelings like that for someone like him.”

“Just because Rey doesn’t feel it, doesn’t make it any less true,” Rose replied. “Maybe Ben has changed enough to realize that the way to win is by saving what he loves.”

Finn remained silent but cast a knowing glance towards Rose. She got up from her seat and placed a soft kiss on Finn’s forehead.

“There are worse reasons for Ben to be here.”

With that, Rose left the room, leaving Finn to his thoughts.

*

Ben was jolted awake by the sound of his cell door hissing open and shut. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and looked up to see Poe staring down at him, arms crossed.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Poe said.

Ben sat up slowly and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I’m assuming you’re here to get First Order intel from me,” Ben said with a smirk.

“We’ll get to that eventually; first I want to hear your story. Finn told me everything that happened on the island, but I want to hear what you have to say.”

“Why do you care?”

“Call me intrigued.”

Ben hesitated for a moment.

“Fine. What do you want to know, Dameron?”

“You said you want to go by Ben Solo. Why are you using Han’s name?”

“Because he was my father,” Ben whispered. “Ben Solo is my given name.”

He couldn’t make eye contact; he fought the tears that sprung to his eyes. To show any sign of weakness in front of Poe would be unthinkable before today. Still, the pain he felt every time he thought of his father and what he had done to him was unbearable. Poe remained silent, processing this information and allowing Ben to further explain.

Ben steeled himself and continued, “Han and Leia were my parents. I know what you’re thinking, and I’m not about to discuss all the terrible things I did to them or my complicated relationship with them with you of all people, but I need you to know that Kylo Ren is gone – dead and buried. I’m not the Sith Lord that I once tried to be, and I’m certainly not the Supreme Leader of the First Order any longer. I’ve left them behind. I’m remembering who Ben Solo was and will be after trying to forget him for the past 6 years. All I want is to be a better man than I was before. I want to make things right.”

Poe didn’t know what to say. He still wasn’t completely certain that he could trust Ben, but the look in his eyes and the brutal honesty of his words were compelling.

“I worked closely with Leia,” Poe began. “She was a great general and mentor.”

Poe took a moment to reflect. He truly was dumbfounded and at a loss for adequate words. He missed Leia’s presence in the command center – her expertise and knowledge. Despite her strength, he had always sensed a sadness in her, especially in the last year or so. He had always chalked it up to the loss of Han. To know that she had lost Han as a result of their son’s anger was a lot to process. He decided to change the subject.

“Finn told me that you killed Snoke and that you helped Rey defeat the Emperor on Exegol. Is that true?”

“It’s true – well, most of it is. I killed Snoke on the Supremacy; that’s true. On Exegol I really just helped Rey clear the battlefield,” Ben admitted, a tone of admiration creeping into his voice. “I killed my knights and the Emperor’s guard before I was thrown down a pit. Rey defeated the Emperor on her own, but the exertion – it killed her. I climbed back up and transferred my life Force to her – she deserved it.”

“So how did you end up on Ahch-To?”

“I can’t explain how I didn’t die – it’s a mystery to me. I faded into the Force after reviving Rey, but something stopped me from fully crossing over. I contacted Finn on accident. I was trying to reach Rey.”

Poe thought for a moment then said, “I suppose we should thank you then for helping Rey defeat the Emperor, but that still doesn’t explain why Rey came back to the base and was acting strangely.”

“What do you mean? Finn mentioned that Rey had left and admitted that it might have been his fault, but he didn’t mention any strange behavior.”

“He didn’t tell you?!”

Ben shook his head. He was eager to know how badly he needed to beat the traitor and anyone else that might have had a hand in Rey’s departure once he regained his lightsabers and Force abilities.

“When Rey returned from Exegol she acted – well – she was acting out of character. Normally she would be the first person to tell us the details of her mission. We bicker constantly about strategy and how successful a mission truly was, but none of that happened. It was like she didn’t really come back from Exegol. She didn’t want to talk about anything. When I pushed her for details, I put a hand on her shoulder – she zapped me with Force lightning.”

Ben grit his teeth, knowing that the pilot had touched her, but pushed down the urge to strangle him.

“She ran off into the jungle, and when she resurfaced after a few hours word had spread of what she did to me. Finn thought the best thing would be for her to be escorted back to the base in Force-dampening binders so that everyone was comfortable and they could talk openly about what happened, but Rey resisted and took off in the Falcon.”

“We need to find her. Now,” Ben barked.

Clearly, in Ben’s opinion, something was very wrong with Rey, and he desperately needed to help fix it.

“Calm down,” Poe replied. “We have no idea where she ran off to. For all we know she could be on the other side of the galaxy by now. We do, however, have intel as to where the last remaining First Order Xyston-class star destroyer, the Derriphan, is hiding out. If you help us to plan and execute our siege and defeat of what’s left of the First Order, we’ll send you out with a small team, including Finn, to find her. After that you’ll be subject to the justice of the Resistance and the new government that we erect in place of the New Republic that you so graciously helped to destroy.”

Ben weighed his options. He didn’t like that he was beholden to the Resistance to find Rey, but it seemed like the only scenario where he would be able to have an opportunity to find Rey without having to fight his way out of a heavily armored based that had weaponized the ysalamiri. He didn’t like his chances in that scenario. He had figured that he would be put on trial on his return, but that was a small price to pay to make sure that Rey was safe and sound with her friends. He nodded in agreement.

“Fine, but I swear that if you or the Resistance double-cross me, Dameron, I will make the pain you’ve experienced at my hands feel like a mild headache.”

He held his hand out in agreement, waiting for a handshake. Poe reached out and shook it. Somehow, despite every experience he had had with Kylo Ren, he sensed Ben would be true to his word. There was something he could sense between Ben and Rey – something that he wasn’t seeing or couldn’t put his finger on, but it was there. He could tell that Ben cared about her. Why else would he give his life for hers? Why would he surrender himself to the Resistance, knowing full well that he could face an execution squad, to make sure that Rey was ok? He shook his head, clearing the questions swirling inside his head as he left the cell, the door hissing shut behind him.

*

Finn had had Ben brought to the command center that evening in Force-dampening binders for the strategic planning session of Resistance command. His knowledge of First Order protocol and star destroyer schematics would be indispensable in their assault against the Derriphan. Poe brought the session to order, clearing his throat.

“I’d like to introduce you all to Ben. He will be aiding us in planning our attack against the Derriphan. He has promised his full cooperation and honesty during his time with us.”

Poe turned to face Ben.

“Right now the Derriphan is orbiting the uncolonized planet of Pillio within its atmosphere. Our plan was to approach from the rear, initiate an air assault to disable the surface cannons, and, ultimately, disable the ship so that it cannot leave the planet.”

“It sounds like a solid plan so far, including the air assault,” Ben replied. “The air assault can serve as a distraction. The question is whether you’re looking to take prisoners to put on trial for their crimes or if you’re planning on total devastation.”

“We want the new galactic government to be built upon seeking justice against the First Order,” Commander D’Arcy said. “We’d like to take as many prisoners as possible while also preventing any ideological offshoots from the First Order. That’s how we got into this mess in the first place – a failure to cut off all of the heads of the Empire.”

“In that case, you’ll need an assault on the destroyer itself to reach the command bridge and take control of the ship. After safely disembarking Resistance personnel in addition to our prisoners, we can scuttle the ship on Pillio to ensure that all remaining active First Order vessels are destroyed.”

“A good point,” Poe admitted. “We’ll put together an invasion force that will be responsible for neutralizing any threats onboard and taking remaining First Order high command into custody.”

They discussed the schematics of the Derriphan that a Resistance spy had been able to obtain through backchannels. They had been at it for several hours when Ben opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He spotted a large, furry figure across the holotable. He couldn’t make out the face, but he would know that silhouette anywhere. Finn followed Ben’s frozen eyeline and understood. Finn stepped in and suggested that they take a 10-minute break. He needed a fresh caf anyways. The meeting broke for the time being and most command members left the room, leaving Ben and Chewy mostly alone, staring at each other across the holotable.


	16. Chewy / The Interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, despite having one of the more tender moments of the story in this chapter, this chapter does have a content warning for torture and graphic violence. If you'd like to skip that portion of the story, you should stop reading at "Rage boiled inside her," which is soon after the Supreme Leader leaves the room. The passage goes through to the end of the chapter. I will post a summary of the content at the end of the chapter in less triggering language that'll give you the gist of what happened if that's something you'd like to read.
> 
> This chapter is the first time I've ever tried writing original characters of any kind, so I hope you appreciate them and find that they add something interesting to the story. I've loved reading all of your comments and hearing what you all think is going to happen next. Keep them coming!
> 
> Enjoy! ^_^

Ben was the first to break the awkward silence.

“Hi, Uncle Chewy,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

Chewy circled the holotable and came to stand directly in front of Ben.

“I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me or never want to talk to me again, but I just want you to know how sorry I am for killing my dad. I know he was one of your oldest and best friends, and – well – I just don’t know how to make it up to you, to make things right.”

Chewy cocked his head slightly to the side and said in his native Shyriiwook, “Small Solo has returned home. Solo would be happy; he missed small Solo much. I missed small Solo too.”

Ben collapsed into Chewy, his body heaving with sobs that he had been holding back ever since that night on Starkiller Base. Chewy gathered him into a warm embrace without hesitation.

“I’m so sorry, Chewy. I wish I could take it back; I really do. I’m sorry I did that to you, my mom, my dad. I’m not deserving of your forgiveness”

“Chewbacca decide to forgive. Don’t worry; be quiet.”

They stood there locked in a hug for several minutes before Ben took a step back and looked up at Chewy.

“I missed Uncle Chewy, too,” Ben said in the broken Shyriiwook that he could remember.

Chewy took his large hand and tousled Ben’s hair, letting out a heady Wookie laugh. Ben smiled and hugged him again as the command center filled back up with people.

*

The plan had been finalized. Finn would lead a team of soldiers as part of the boarding party that would capture the command bridge of the Derriphan, and Poe would lead the corresponding aerial attack to disable the vessel. They were just about to adjourn the session and make preparations when Ben cut in and said, “I want to be a part of the boarding party.”

Poe looked at him and replied, “And why should we let you do that? We still can’t be sure that we can trust you to not turn on our men once you’re back in First Order territory.”

“You won’t know you can trust me until I’m on that ship, but I know how to navigate inside a First Order star destroyer better than any schematic or anyone here can. I’m also willing to bet that I’m the only person here with any experience in scuttling a ship the size of the Derriphan.”

Poe paused for a moment. He did have a valid point.

“You won’t be there to fight; you’ll be there to navigate. You’ll be kept in those Force-dampening binders the entire time, will not be armed, and will stay out of our way until it’s your turn to go to work. Understood?”

Ben grimaced. He hated the idea of being a helpless bystander during a battle, especially one where he had a vested interest in the outcome. If the Resistance failed, he might never be able to find Rey.

He begrudgingly nodded and said, “Fine.”

“Okay, any other last minute thoughts?” Silence. “Alright then, let’s get this show on the road. I want final preparations made within the hour and ships up and out at 1600 standard.”

The room burst into a flurry as everyone ran to their stations and began preparing for the battle to come. Chewy gave Ben one last hug – he was going to be a part of the aerial assault flying an old snowspeeder that Rose had retrofitted for upper atmosphere battle.

“Be careful, small Solo,” Chewy said.

“You too, fuzzball,” Ben replied.

Finn approached Ben just as Chewy was leaving.

“Look, as much as I don’t like the idea of you having access to a weapon around me, I think you deserve to have something when we board,” Finn almost whispered, trying not to catch the attention of those still milling close to them. “I’m going to bring your sabers. You don’t get to touch them unless absolutely necessary, but I think it’s the least I can do for you given that you’ve helped us this far.”

Ben nodded.

“Thank you; I appreciate that.”

“I’ll grab them before we leave, and I’ll meet up with you here when it’s time to leave.”

Finn left and Ben heard the lock to the command center click behind him. There was nothing left to do but wait for the battle to begin. Normally Ben would have found some sense of peace in the prospect of battle and the chaos that would ensue – it mirrored his life and it brought him peace to know that he wasn’t the only thing in the galaxy that was unmoored and unstable – but today he just took a seat next to an inactive console and stared into blank space. He felt nothing but dread.

*

Rey was startled awake by a violent, painful shock. She cried out in pain, wondering why she wasn’t dead – the blaster bolt to her gut and head should have killed her. Her eyes blinked open, trying to adjust to the bright white lights of the room she found herself in. She was strapped to a table that was elevated to hold her at an incline. She struggled against her restraints without success. She reached out with the Force – nothing. Panicked, she tried again – again, nothing. The Force wasn’t there; it was as if the energy of the universe had been sucked out of the room. Her eyes finally focused enough to make out the floating IT-O droid that had shocked her awake, as well as a petite, severe-looking woman with pin straight silver hair dressed in the black officer’s uniform of the First Order.

“Rey of Jakku is it,” the woman said in a sharp, articulate voice that sounded like it could slice through flesh. “Welcome to the Derriphan. I hope you’re finding your accommodations…adequate.”

Rey was still having trouble adjusting to the brightness of the room, but she managed to send a scowl in her general direction.

“I am Supreme Leader Talanis Kahn. I’ll admit I was surprised to find you, of all people, aboard my ship and wielding, of all things, a red lightsaber.”

She pulled a hand from behind her back, holding Rey’s lightsaber in her bony hand.

“It’s an elegant weapon; I’ll give you that, but I doubt that your Resistance friends would approve of it if they knew.”

With that she ignited the saber, casting a red glow against her pallid skin.

“I’m assuming they don’t know. After all, every intelligent creature in the galaxy knows that red sabers denote a Dark Side user.”

Rey remained silent. Kahn was trying to get a rise out of her, but she wouldn’t give it to her; she was too stubborn.

“I see that you’re not feeling very talkative. Perhaps I should incentivize you appropriately.”

Kahn stepped forward and rested the plasma of Rey’s lightsaber against her thigh. Rey cried out in pain – the smell of burning flesh filling the air. Kahn removed the blade.

“Still not feeling like a chat?”

“What do you want from me,” Rey spat. “I don’t have anything that you want.”

“Oh of course you do. You know where the Resistance is, and our sources tell us that you know where Kylo Ren is.”

“What do you want with Kylo Ren?”

A wicked smile spread across Kahn’s face. “He’s a traitor and fugitive of the First Order. We only wish to see justice served.”

Rey noticed that the aching in her chest had returned. It was duller now but still present. She had been distracted by a figment of her imagination. She cursed herself for being so foolish.

“Kylo Ren is dead. I saw him die with my own eyes on Exegol. I’m not telling you where the Resistance is, so if you’re going to kill me, please get on with it.”

She avoided saying Ben’s name out loud. It hurt too much, and she didn’t want to say his true name in the presence of such a vile person. Ben was hers and hers alone – she wasn’t about to share him.

“Dear Rey, please don’t worry. We’ll kill you eventually, but first we need your cooperation, and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to obtain it.”

The door to the interrogation room opened to reveal a stormtrooper with red armor wielding a weapon similar to those Snoke’s Praetorian Guard had had on the Supremacy.

“I’ll leave you to get acquainted with Captain Rato, the head of our elite data acquisition corp. I’ll warn you; he likes to get very up close and personal to do his work.”

Supreme Leader Kahn carefully placed Rey’s lightsaber on a table near the door that sat under a large, glass capsule that housed a lizard-like animal of some variety – a ysalamiri. She exited with a flourish, leaving Rey alone with Captain Rato. As soon as the door had hissed shut, the stormtrooper pulled out a small remote. He pressed a button and the red ‘on’ light for the holocam in the corner of the room blinked off. He proceeded to take off his helmet and place it on the table next to Rey’s lightsaber. Captain Rato was a tall, imposing man with a tattoo drawn down the right side of his face – he reminded Rey vaguely of Ben and the scar she had given him. Rage boiled inside her.

His voice was gravelly as he stepped towards her. “Where is the Resistance?”

Rey remained silent. He asked again, igniting the laser blade of his weapon. She resisted. He came close enough that she could feel his hot breath on her skin. When she remained silent a third time, he took the blade and slid it under the skin of the back of Rey’s hand. He pulled it towards him, cleaving skin from the underlying tissue. She screamed. He asked again; Rey barred her teeth. He continued on her fingers, flaying each individual finger with each unanswered query. The pain was too much.

“Kill me,” Rey begged.

“That would be too easy,” he growled.

He continued, making his way up her left arm piece by piece, skinning her alive. She screamed and screamed until her throat burned. He made it up to her elbow in spotty patches before pausing. He leaned in close, holding his blade to her neck.

“Had enough, scavenger?”

“You’re never going to get a thing out of me.”

“Well then, I’ll make you suffer and, only when I’ve had my fun, you’ll die just like that kriffing son of a bantha, Ren. I bet he died like a punk, didn’t he?”

Rey snapped. She cocked her head and headbutted Rato. He let go of his weapon, stunned, letting it fall down the length of Rey’s body, slicing through flesh, as well as her restraints. She pulled her right arm free and punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious. He fell to the floor hard. Rey took a deep breath, taking care to gently remove her restraints from around her battered frame. She slumped forward once she was free and fell to her hands and knees. The floor was cool and soothing against her hot skin. She crawled over to the wall and sat up against it, taking a moment to breath and recover. Every inch of her ached and burned. Blood was seeping from the new gash that stretched from her neck down to her waist, She didn’t know how she was going to make it from here to the command bridge to take the ship down, but she was going to try. 

She slowly rose to her feet and limped over to her lightsaber. She turned back towards Captain Rato and, without hesitation, ignited her saber and plunged it through his chest. She felt nothing – there was no Force, only rage and a thirst for vengeance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary of Rey's interrogation scene:
> 
> Captain Rato uses his weapon to torture Rey. She refuses to give him anything and, when he insults Ben, Rey snaps and headbutts him, causing him to drop his weapon. The weapon cuts through her restraints, freeing her to knock-out Captain Rato. She escapes the rest of her restraints, and takes a short moment to recover from her injuries. She kills Rato on her way out of the interrogation room as he lies on the floor unconscious. Rey is an unpredictable, angry entity at the end of the chapter, and she's out for blood.


	17. Collision

The Resistance X-Wings and troop transports came out of hyperspace just inside Pillio space on the same side of the planet that the Derriphan was currently orbiting on. It seemed like they had successfully caught the First Order by surprise.

“Blue Squadron concentrate your fire on the ventral cannons, Red Squadron take the top side of the ship,” Poe said into the comm. “Try to take out their communications towers as well. Black Squadron on me. We’ll escort the boarding team to the auxiliary hangar bay and then deal with any First Order TIEs that make it out.”

Finn and Ben sat in the dark inside their troop transport ship as it rocked back and forth on entry into Pillio’s atmosphere. Ben’s Force-dampening binders were cutting into his wrists from being worn for such a long period of time, but Ben had experienced far worse pain to be bothered by such an annoyance. The auxiliary hangar bay was open without ray shields activated just as Ben had said they would be per First Order protocol. The troop transport set down in the hangar with a jar, jostling everyone inside.

“May the Force be with you,” Finn said to Poe through the comm.

“Right back at you, Finn. I’ll see you on the other side,” Poe replied.

Finn clipped his commlink to his belt next to Ben’s lightsabers. The boarding ramp descended. There was a small group of stormtroopers that had gathered around the unexpected transport, but they clearly hadn’t raised an alarm yet. Both groups stood there dumbfounded for a second before Finn stepped forward and started firing. Everyone else followed suit. Ben stayed back towards the back of the transport out of sight until the hangar had been secured.

“We need to split up,” Ben said. “Captain Doza, you take half of the team and go to the turbolift right outside of the interior hangar entrance. Hotwire the control panel and take the lift up to level 7. Finn and I will take the others and head to the maintenance turbolift towards the rear of the shift. We’ll meet on level 7 and can box in any troops that may stand in our way.”

Captain Doza nodded and took off towards the turbolift with his men. Ben, Finn, and their team crept through the ship to the maintenance turbolift without incident.

“Something’s not right,” Ben said as they waited for a member of their team to activate the lift. “We should have encountered at least some resistance by now, but it’s like a ghost town down here.”

“Do you have any idea why no one is patrolling the lower levels,” Finn asked.

“The only thing I can think of is that there might be a perceived security threat on a higher level. Otherwise, there’s no First Order protocol that would remove almost all security presence from other sections of the ship.”

Finn gulped. This was either going to be a cake walk or going to be extremely difficult depending on what situation awaited them on the command bridge. The lift lurched to life. When the lift doors opened, the team couldn’t believe their eyes. Everything was in chaos. The halls were scarred with carbon scoring and littered with dead stormtroopers. They could hear blaster bolts and the cries of soldiers falling in battle nearby.

“Security threat located,” Ben joked in a deadpan voice.

The team made their way down the corridor towards the command bridge, which was coincidentally the same direction as the noise of battle. As they were about to turn a corner, a stormtrooper rounded the corner at a run, stopping once he realized what he had discovered.

“Resistance incursion on command level 7. I repeat, Resistance incursion on command level 7,” the trooper spoke into his comm just before a Resistance soldier put a blaster bolt through his chest.

“They know we’re here,” Finn said.

*

Rey was exhausted physically and mentally. Pain and rage coursed through her veins – they were the only things keeping her alive, she thought. She drew upon them for strength to complete her mission. She stepped out of the interrogation room, ignited lightsaber in hand, and was immediately spotted by two patrolling stormtroopers. She stayed static, allowing them to fire on her as they drew nearer. With a flick of her wrist she dispatched of both of them, severing head from shoulders. She limped further down the hallway, feeling the Force return to her with each step. She knew she didn’t have enough energy left to heal any of her wounds, so she kept moving. Two more troopers appeared. She heard one send out the alarm just before she pulled him towards her and plunged her saber into him.

“Kriff,” she swore.

An entire squadron of troopers would be on their way any time now. She broke out into a hobbled run as best she could to try to make it to the nearest turbolift. She stumbled into the lift and slammed the “close door” button. That would buy her some time until she could rewire the lift controls. Before she could even get the paneling off of the wall, the car lurched down a floor to level 7 – the command level. The door slid open to reveal another platoon of troopers. She took the moment of surprise to push them back onto the ground and start cutting through them one by one. When she had finished them off, she turned and stalked towards the command bridge. Several platoons turned a corner and blocked her path. She raised her saber and prepared herself for the battle.

*

Finn and Ben’s team rounded the corner to come face to face with a line of stormtroopers holding their own against some unknown menace further down the corridor. Some had turned and were already firing at them. Ben dove behind a support girder, narrowly missing a blaster bolt that careened into the wall behind him. Finn was pinned behind another girder up and across the hallway, closer to the battle line.

“Finn, I think now’s the time,” Ben yelled over the commotion, holding his binders up. “I can take care of this and we can get moving.”

Finn didn’t hear him. Ben pouted silently, waiting for an opportunity. His chance came when the charred corpse of a stormtrooper slid near him after falling face-first onto the ground. He came out from behind the girder for a split second, grabbing the troopers arm and dragging him closer. He searched the trooper’s utility belt until he found what he was looking for – a laser lockpick. He bent his wrist as best he could to aim the laser at the locking mechanism for his binders. The laser burned as it tore through the metal, disabling the device. One wrist came free. Ben was able to make quick work of the other. He felt the Force rush back to him as he reached a hand towards Finn’s belt, calling his lightsabers to him.

*

Rey fought on. Blood was still seeping from the wound Captain Rato’s knife had given her, and her head, arm, and abdomen pulsed in agony. In the chaos of battle, she felt it once again – the absence of the pain in her chest that had been her constant companion since Exegol. She ignored it. It had been a mistake before – an illusion. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Ben was gone, and there was no way to bring him back. She drew on her grief and Force choked a stormtrooper that dared come near, throwing his limp body against the ceiling.

*

Ben was overcome quickly overcome with feelings of grief, anger, abandonment, and pain. He staggered and grabbed for purchase against the wall, unable to see straight from the sensory overload of reconnecting to the Force. In between the strong emotional signals he was receiving, he could sense her.

“Rey,” he yelled over the commotion.

He shook his head, ignited both sabers, and ran into the fray, cutting down any stormtrooper that got in his way. 

“Cover him,” Finn yelled as they blasted the stormtroopers they could.

Ben got close enough that he could see over the line of troopers to see the other half of the boarding party had reached the battle and were engaging the stormtroopers from the other side. Between them there was a flurry of red light dancing. He pushed forward, breaking the line enough so that he could get a clear line of sight. Rey looked to be in rough shape; she looked as if she had been to hell and back. Blood was everywhere. The troopers standing near him turned their attention to the Resistance troops that had appeared behind them. They would let the two Force users take care of each other – better to take on one Force user than two.

A trooper on the far side threw a thermal detonator at Rey only for it to come careening back at him and engulf everyone in the vicinity in a deadly fireball. Rey turned to see Ben staring back at her. She froze.

“Rey,” he said in a soft voice.

She ignored him. She was hallucinating – she had to be.

When she didn’t reply, Ben continued, “Rey, I’m here. Let me help you.”

“Liar,” she screamed. “You’re not here. This isn’t real. You’re gone.”

He felt the pain and grief surge around her as she raised her lightsaber and ran towards him. She swung her saber down and was met with Ben’s raised in defense above his head. 

“Rey, I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to help you.”

She kept hacking away at his defenses. She was quickly losing energy as he parried and moved out of the path of her saber. She stepped back for a moment, tears in her eyes.

“Please,” she whimpered. “Kill me. I’m alone; I have no one left. I just need to be with Ben again.”

“I’m right here, Rey,” he replied. “You have me.”

She charged, unsatisfied with his answer. Ben saw an opportunity and took it. He sidestepped her and kicked her legs out from under her. She fell but was stopped by Ben’s arm, his other hand reaching out, keeping her lightsaber extended away from both of them. He bent down, pulled her body close, and pressed his lips to hers.


	18. Rebellion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, all! With the major turning point of the story from the last chapter, it took me a while to fully realize where I wanted to go with the story and how to put it into words. I think I took a path that was true to the characters with a tiny bit of soft, fluffy Reylo stuff peppered in there.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

Finn had felt the weight of Ben’s lightsabers lift from his belt and had seen Ben sprint past him but had been too distracted by the heightened onslaught of First Order troopers to protest.

“Besides,” he thought to himself. “If anyone could help turn the tide of the battle raging it would be the guy who knew how to use the Force.”

Finn followed Ben with his eyes as he cut a path through the fray until he stopped dead in his tracks, transfixed by the black clad blur wielding a red lightsaber that moved just past him. It took a moment for him to realize that the blur was Rey.

“Rey,” he yelled, but she didn’t hear him.

She looked terrible – so pale that she looked almost like a corpse, riddled with a few blaster holes and bleeding from one arm. He looked on from the safety of the support girder as Ben tried to reason with her and then defended himself as she attacked. He made a move to press the Resistance line forward, to help in some way, but stopped short as he saw Rey trip and fall into Ben’s waiting arms and mouth. He couldn’t believe it – Rose had been right; he was never going to hear the end of it if he made it home. He shook his head, trying to snap himself out of this inconvenient line of thought. He was finally distracted by a blaster bolt that barely missed his head, careening into the wall behind him. He shot back, refocusing on the task at hand.

A thermal detonator went off close to Finn’s position, sending Resistance and First Order bodies flying everywhere. In the aftermath, the lifeless body of a First Order trooper crashed back to the ground right in front of Finn, sending his helmet flying on contact. Finn looked down at the charred corpse and realized, with horror, that he recognized the trooper – FN-2459. He had been a part of the same infantry corps platoon before he had escaped the First Order; they had been friendly – both disapproving of the First Order’s methods but unable to fight against it – though FN-2459 had always been more reliable with a blaster than he had ever been. Guilt overcame him as tears welled in his eyes.

“What are we doing,” he murmured to himself as he continued to stare into the dead, staring eyes of FN-2459, ignoring to the battle raging around him for just a moment longer.

*

Rey’s eyes had jolted open the second Ben’s lips had touched hers. She could feel it – this was real; she wasn’t just imagining things in her weakened state. The rage and grief drained from her to be replaced by a sense of peace. She loosened her grip on her lightsaber as Ben tilted her gently back upright. New tears came to her eyes – happy tears, relieved tears.

“You’re – you’re alive,” she whispered after their lips had parted, allowing a small, tired smile to cross her face.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” he replied, smirking back at her.

She felt warm and safe wrapped in his arms. She needed rest; the black void of unconsciousness clawed at the edge of her vision, threatening to swallow her whole. The last thing she saw as she slipped into oblivion was Ben’s face – his sly smirk.

Ben caught her as she fell limp and dropped her lightsaber onto the floor. He could sense that she was still alive but holding on by a thread, weakened by loss of blood and exhaustion. He fought every instinct inside himself to give her his life Force again, but he couldn’t make that mistake twice. He would need what energy he had left to complete the mission and protect Rey. He carefully slung her over his shoulder, called her lightsaber to him, clipping it onto his belt, and began to search for Finn or, at minimum, a medical droid. He was distracted from his quest only when a commotion at the other end of the hall caught his attention.

*

Finn grit his teeth – he had decided to change strategy and, hopefully, save some lives in the process. It had been all too easy to forget, in the years since he had left the First Order, that there were people behind those stormtrooper helmets – people exactly like him – and seeing FN-2459 lying on the floor dead had been a cruel reminder. Finn didn’t plan to forget again. He steeled his nerves and stepped out from behind the support girder, firing his blaster toward the ceiling and yelling, “Cease fire!”

A quiet came over the room. Finn couldn’t quite explain it, but he willed everyone in the corridor, Resistance and First Order alike, to stop firing and listen. Inexplicably, everyone responded. He lowered his weapon and stepped forward, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“First Order troopers: I was once one of you. I was FN-2187. I was kidnapped from my family at birth like many of you. I was forced to do the bidding of the First Order regardless of whether it was right or wrong just like you. They tried to program me – to scare me into compliance – just like you. I lived in fear for 23 years as I was manipulated, brainwashed, and used like a piece of machinery just like you. I was fortunate enough to have the chance to find a way out – a way to escape. I was given a chance to make a choice for myself and choose to take control of my own life. I now go by the name of Finn – a name I chose for myself, separate from the number that they gave me. I want to extend that same choice to all of you today. Lay down your weapons and join the Resistance. We will not harm you if you come willingly. You will be treated as refugees, and you will have the opportunity to choose for yourself what life you wish to live. The alternative is to be declared a war criminal; you will be captured and subject to the military tribunal of the New Republic.”

The hallway remained silent for a moment.

“The choice is up to you,” Finn continued. “I refuse to take part in the needless killing of First Order stormtroopers who had no choice in the matter any longer. Now is the time for you to make your choice.”

Stormtroopers looked side to side at each other, wondering if anyone else was considering the offer. Finn held his breath, hoping that this wasn’t the worst idea he had ever had.

“If I die,” he thought to himself. “At least my conscience will be clear.”

To his surprise and relief, many troopers began to lower their blasters, drop them to the floor, and remove their helmets. Finn dared to let a smile cross his face as more troopers defected, but a new kind of pandemonium quickly turned his mood when troopers who had chosen to remain loyal to the First Order began blasting those around them who had chosen to defect.

Finn dove back behind his support beam, narrowly avoiding a stray blaster bolt.

“Fight back,” he yelled to the Resistance forces and their newly obtained troops.

In the melee, he made the decision to make a run for it and try to reach Ben and Rey. The plan had clearly changed; he would need to confer with Ben to decide what course to take next.

*

Ben was warding off attacks from the loyal First Order troopers near him – Rey slung over his shoulder – when Finn sprinted up to him, finishing off the few remaining enemies in the area.

“Well that was an interesting twist,” Ben deadpanned, panting for breath from the exertion.

“We need a change of plan,” Finn replied.

“I can take care of capturing any remaining First Order command officers without the sense to hop into an escape pod by this point and bring the ship down myself.”

Finn looked at Ben suspiciously. He had earned his respect in fighting for the Resistance today, but he still didn’t completely trust him – especially where Rey was involved.

“I’ll take Rey with me to get her some medical attention and work on getting all of our defected stormtroopers evacuated along with any captured First Order loyalists.”

“No,” Ben stated firmly. “I’m keeping Rey with me.”

“Are you crazy, Solo? You’re going to have enough on your plate bringing the destroyer down and capturing its officers. You don’t need any extra distractions.”

Small fists slamming against Ben’s back interrupted the argument.

“Let me down,” Rey mumbled, emerging from her stupor.

Rey had regained her consciousness shortly after Ben had slung him over his shoulder, allowing the blood that remained to rush to her brain. He set her down gently on the cool, steel floor. It felt good against her burning palms; her entire body felt like it was on fire and plunged in ice water all at once. She was sweating and trying to stop the room from spinning around her.

“I’m fine,” she continued. “I’m going to help Ben.”

Both Finn and Ben knelt down next to her.

“You’re in no shape to help him,” Finn replied. “We need to get you some help. It looks like you’ve been through a lot and lost a lot of blood. You can’t keep going on like this for much longer.”

Ben grit his teeth, pausing for a moment before speaking.

“As much as I hate to say it, he’s right,” he finally admitted. The admission nagged at his pride. He felt so possessive and protective of Rey; he didn’t feel like anyone would take care of her better than him. “You need to go with Finn.”

“No,” Rey spat back with a little more energy than before. “I came here to bring down this ship, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Finn and Ben looked at each other and shrugged. There was no point in arguing with her. When Rey had her mind set on doing something, they knew that all they could do was sit back and be prepared to catch her if she fell.

The battle had calmed around them – almost all of the First Order loyalists had been subdued, and Captain Doza’s team had rejoined the Resistance group and was awaiting further orders. Finn rose to his feet, giving Rey’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Be careful,” he said before turning and jogging towards Doza.

Ben looked down at Rey’s raw, bleeding arm. Without a word he tore the bottom off the tunic the Resistance had provided him and began gently wrapping it around her arm. She winced as the fabric touched her skin, biting her lip to keep from crying out. Ben could feel her agony through their bond.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Let me know if it’s too tight.”

She nodded. He checked her other wounds before helping her up off the floor – all of them needed attention. He reached out his hand, sending some of his energy into the deep gash that ran the length of her body, closing it but not fully healing it – she wouldn’t be losing any more blood externally now. He staggered a little from the exertion but regained his footing before handing her lightsaber back to her.

“You’ll be needing this.”

She accepted the saber, turning it over gingerly in her hand. Her gaze moved from her saber to Ben’s face. Her emotions bubbled to the surface and tears formed in her eyes, threatening to spill over her cheeks. She felt so relieved that she was standing here. With Ben. Alive. But she still felt the weight of everything she had done after losing him – it hung on her conscience like a great weight. She looked down at her feet.

“I don’t deserve Ben after everything that I’ve done,” she thought to herself.

Ben slipped a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to meet his eyeline. He had heard her thoughts through the bond and was dismayed that this beautiful creature who had defeated the Emperor and almost single-handedly helped to bring him back from the brink of the Dark Side could ever think herself unworthy of anything.

“We can talk about it when we make it back to Ajan Kloss – when you’re ready – but don’t you dare tell yourself you aren’t deserving of something – anything. You deserve everything.”

He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, hugging her close. She stood there, wrapped in his embrace, tears spilling down her cheeks. When they parted Rey bashfully rubbed her eyes before turning in the direction of the command bridge. It was time to pay a visit to the Supreme Leader.


	19. A Change of Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is significantly shorter than the others I've been writing previously, but I felt like the stop point was a good place to leave off before diving into the next chapter, which hopefully will be a longer one.
> 
> Enjoy!

Poe’s comm chimed as his X-Wing fighter zipped underneath the Derriphan, shooting his ion cannon and destroying an oncoming First Order TIE.

“Put it through BB-8,” he said.

With a pleasant beep and whirr, BB-8 patched Finn through.

“You have an update for me,” Poe asked, hoping for good news.

The ship’s external defenses had been quick work for Blue and Red Squadrons, but Black Squadron was having a difficult time running down all of the TIE fighters that had responded to their assault.

“You bet, General. Though there has been a change in plans – a significant change in plans,” Finn replied.

“What now? Keep it short, we’re still finishing off First Order forces out here.”

“We found Rey on the Derriphan already engaged with stormtroopers. We helped her out and captured all remaining stormtroopers aboard. All will be returning with us to base – a few as prisoners, most as refugees.”

He paused for a moment, waiting for Poe’s reaction.

“So we’re taking refugees now? Is that it,” Poe fumed, mashing down his triggers to relieve his frustration.

“I’ll explain myself to you later.”

“Fine,” Poe relented. “Anything else I need to know?”

“In addition, Ben and Rey are now en route to the command bridge to capture the Supreme Leader and any remaining First Order officers.”

“You sure we can trust Ben to get the job done without double-crossing us?”

“I think so – at least where Rey is concerned, I think so. I’ll explain that later too; I think our debrief back at base is going to take a while.”

Poe heaved a sigh. “Alright. Get yourself and your captives, refugees…whatever you want to call them onto the transport – steal a few First Order ships if you have to – and make for home. Red and Blue Squadrons will follow when we finish off the last of the TIEs, and Black Squadron will confirm that Ben and Rey successfully scuttle the ship. I’ll oversee finishing the mission on this end.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

With that, Finn severed the connection, leaving Poe to refocus on destroying the last of the attacking First Order forces.

*

Ben and Rey both took deep, calming breaths as they crossed the threshold onto the Derriphan’s command bridge, syncing their minds and breathing for what may come ahead. The bridge appeared to be completely deserted save for a woman – black clad with silver hair – who had her back to them. She stood staring out the viewport at the bright curve of Pillio’s surface. A shiver ran down Rey’s spine as she recalled her last encounter with Supreme Leader Talanis Kahn, but she welcomed the feeling; it helped her stay more alert despite her fatigue.

“I see that you’ve risen from the dead, Ren,” Kahn cooed without so much as turning her head towards them. “The scavenger told me that you’d died on Exegol, but clearly she was misinformed. That or she’s more skilled at deception than I gave her credit.”

“I see that you’ve finally snaked your way up to the office of Supreme Leader,” Ben remarked coolly. “A shame that it took the deaths – presumptive or not – of the only three people capable of the job for someone such as yourself to achieve it.”

“What a silver-tongued devil you are, Ren. I had forgotten. It’s a shame that both you and the scavenger have to die, though. I suppose you’ll be mourned by the rebel filth you now consider your allies, but that will be short-lived. The First Order – the Final Order – will rise again and with its rise will come the final crushing blow to any pathetic dream of the Republic or democracy. I had thought you were of the same mind, Ren, but alas, I’ve been disappointed by you and your feeble will once more. Evidently you’ve been wooed by this…unique…woman and have chosen to mindlessly meander behind her as her companion, her plaything.”

“We’re here to end this, Kahn,” Rey said, stepping forward, wobbling unsteadily on her feet. “Surrender now or we’ll be forced to kill you.”

Kahn turned her head to one side, eyeing them with a sly smirk breaking the pale, rigid plane of her face.

“Thank goodness she’s feisty, though. That makes up for her lack of feminine charm.” 

She paused for a moment as the smirk spread into a smile. Rey fumed angrily across the room, gripping her saber tighter. Ben felt rage boil up inside him and was about to charge when he felt Rey send Light to him through their bond. The anger remained but diminished slowly until it churned just below the surface. He let out an appreciative sigh.

“In any case,” she continued, “it’s simply daft to ask me to surrender given the conversation we’ve just had, but I welcome you to try to defeat me and take the ship from my command.”

Ben and Rey stepped forward, sabers in hand, and ignited them. As Kahn heard the approaching hum of lightsabers behind her, she pressed a button on the console in front of her. The blast doors to the bridge hissed closed, locking firmly in place, and 20 oblong clear containers, evenly spaced about the room, emerged from the wall panels. Ben and Rey both felt it the instant it happened – the Force had vanished. Ben looked towards the nearest container mounted on the wall and cursed under his breath as he realized that they had walked into a trap.

“Ysalamiri,” he spat.

When they looked back at Kahn, she stood facing them, holding two long swords, gleaming menacingly.

“You’re correct, Ren. You may be foolish, but you’ve never been stupid. Now we can truly duel as equals – without your advantages as Force wielders – though you still have the advantage of numbers.”

“We’ll attack together,” Ben breathed. “I’ll keep her primary focus while you try to cut through her defenses when she’s preoccupied.”

“Together,” she whispered back with a nod as they gripped their lightsabers tighter and steeled themselves for combat.

“Lucky for me,” Kahn grinned, “Snoke taught me a few things about the Force and swordplay before you so crudely assassinated him.”

Ben and Rey ran towards her together, sabers raised.


	20. The Duel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it has taken so long for this update. Writer's block and some life stuff made it a little difficult recently to work on this. Hopefully this was worth the wait and you'll all enjoy what I've written.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Metal met plasma as Ben and Rey’s sabers simultaneously met Kahn’s.

“Beskar,” Ben thought to himself.

He wasn’t surprised. Kahn was well-known throughout the First Order – across the galaxy even – to be an avid collector of rare and valuable weaponry. He had hoped that she wouldn’t have something like this on her person so that they could make quick work of her, but apparently he had been too optimistic.

Kahn pushed both of them back and spun away, keeping her blades at arms length. Ben pressed forward in response, putting his full power behind his strikes to try to tire her out faster. Rey hung back, looking for an opportunity to break Kahn’s defenses and feinting sporadically to keep her guessing. Ben’s onslaught continued to push Kahn back towards the primary navigation console, hoping to pin her down.

He brought one of his sabers down over Kahn’s head and she brought one of her blades up to meet it. With her other blade she slid under Ben’s outstretched arm and gouged it through the flesh of his side. He cried out in pain, staggering away slightly. The momentum changed and Kahn began pressing forward, pushing Ben back towards the closed blast doors. Rey tried to pick up Ben’s slack, trying to maneuver her way behind Kahn to gain the advantage, but she was too quick. It was almost as if she could see each strike and movement before it was made.

Ben continued to parry each of Kahn’s attacks, her blades scintillating in the light like stars. Somehow this petite woman had the power to gain the advantage over Ben and push him towards the corner of the room. His parries were getting slower and he could feel himself tiring out – it was so much harder to fight without the Force than he had anticipated. Every fifth attack or so she was slipping past his defenses and biting into his flesh; blood flowed freely from several cuts and deeper wounds.

Rey had seen enough She moved forward, taking Kahn’s attention off Ben and focusing her attention on her. She was able to push Kahn back again, but she soon felt her head start to swim. Her blood loss paired with the exertion of fighting was taking its toll. She pushed Kahn off of her and took a step backward, taking the opportunity to gulp down deep breaths of air.

“Have you had enough yet,” Kahn taunted. She didn’t even appear to be breathing heavily. “I anticipated that you would fall easily given that you are not accustomed to dueling without your precious Force, but, I must say, things are progressing far more expediently than I had dared hope.”

A smirk flashed across Kahn’s face as Ben and Rey stood there bleeding and panting greedily.

“This isn’t over until you’re dead on the floor,” Rey spat through barred teeth.

Rey ran forward and resumed her attack with renewed fury. She called on all the pain and rage she felt towards the First Order for what they had done to Ben and to her – what they had done to the galaxy – and let it fuel her now. Her vision came back into focus and her senses heightened.

Ben followed, attempting to get attacks in around Kahn’s defenses whenever she was locked with Rey’s saber. Astonishingly, Kahn still blocked all of his attacks somehow; it was as if she had more than two hands and two blades that she was battling with to be able to defend against the onslaught of three lightsabers.

Kahn cartwheeled to the side away from Rey and flipped toward Ben so that he would take the brunt of her attack. She struck out and he just barely leaned out of the way. She moved closer and brought her second blade around. Ben didn’t see her second attack coming. Kahn plunged her blade through his left shoulder and brought her other blade back to cut diagonally across his chest. He fell backward, stunned, onto the floor, his saber falling from his left hand. She pointed her free blade at his throat.

Rey felt rage boil into her chest and throat.

“No,” she screamed, raising her blade and running forward.

Kahn turned and met Rey’s blade with her own, leaving one lodged firmly in Ben’s shoulder.

“Did I damage your pet,” Kahn purred in between attacks. “I apologize for the inconvenience. If it makes any difference, you’ll be dead soon and won’t have to worry your pretty little head over such trivial matters.”

Rey grit her teeth and surged forward, remaining silent. Despite her new wave of strength, Rey could feel herself growing weaker with each parry and she couldn’t afford to waste precious energy on replying to Kahn’s taunts. A fleeting thought rushed through her brain as her vision began to blur. With a last major push of energy, Rey blocked an attack by Kahn and slid her plasma blade down the beskar blade to the hilt until it slipped past and sliced through Kahn’s right wrist. With the moment of distraction, Rey ignited the other end of her saber and flicked her wrist, severing Kahn’s leg just above the knee. Kahn toppled to the ground, unarmed and unable to stand. She kicked the loose blade and severed hand to the side with her boot. Rey towered over her, saber raised, ready to make an end of the Supreme Leader. She moved to strike, but a voice stopped her.

“Rey,” Ben called weakly from a few meters away.

She didn’t take her eyes off of Kahn but remained frozen, waiting for him to speak.

“Don’t do this,” he continued. “This isn’t who you are. We can take her prisoner and bring her back to the Resistance.”

Rey faltered for a moment. 

“This is exactly who I am,” she replied. “You don’t know what I’ve done since you –”

She trailed off into silence, tears creeping into her eyes, further obscuring her already blurred vision.

“You’re right; I don’t,” he whispered back. “But that’s not who you have to be.”

Rey stood for a moment, contemplating.

“You’re nothing like he thinks you are, scavenger,” Kahn sneered from the ground. “His idea of you is a fantasy. You’re exactly what you think you are. You and I are the same.”

She moved her saber towards Kahn.

“Rey, no,” Ben shouted as she brought her saber down.

As Rey jerked her arm toward Kahn, she deactivated the blade and used the hilt to strike Kahn solidly across the forehead, knocking her unconscious.

“He’s the only one who knows me,” Rey whispered to herself.

She dropped her saber and fell to her knees, letting the exhaustion consume her. She took a moment to regain her breath before directing her attention towards Ben. Crawling towards him on her hands and knees, too tired to stand, Rey kept her eyes trained attentively on the rise and fall of his chest, afraid that he could stop breathing at any moment.

He lay on his back, staring blankly up at the ceiling. He had removed the beskar blade from his shoulder and blood had already started pooling beneath him. His eyes were unfocused, but he was still clinging to consciousness. Ben turned his head to face Rey, allowing a small smile to cross his face.

“Are you ok,” Rey panted.

“I’ll be fine; just a little stab wound – nothing worse than you’ve done to me,” he said with a laugh before wincing in pain from the movement. He took a moment to gain his bearings before continuing, “We need to scuttle the ship and get out of here.”

Ben struggled to sit up, grimacing with each movement. Rey tried to help him as much as she could but could only manage to move him into a sitting position against a nearby section of console, leaving a smear of red across the floor. She grabbed one of Ben’s sabers and used it to cut more of his shirt off to abate the slowed but still substantial flow of blood seeping from his shoulder wound – his other injuries could wait.

Ben shook his head, refocusing himself, cradled his wounded arm against his chest, and pushed against the ground to try to stand. It took a few tries, but the leverage of the console behind him helped to bring him to his feet. His head swam, but he fought against it, struggling to stay on his feet and focusing on the pain to keep himself awake. He stumbled over to the primary navigation console, leaving Rey to recover as best she could on the ground. Commands flashed across a myriad of screens as he entered in the commands to direct the nav computer to direct the Derriphan to a direct collision course with Pillio’s watery surface. He felt the command bridge shift as the ship changed course and dipped towards the surface.

Ben turned back to look towards the alcove at the rear of the command bridge that contained escape pods.

“Kriff,” he swore.

Kahn had made sure to jettison all of the escape pods from the bridge so that, in the event of her untimely demise, Rey and Ben would have no route of escape

“How did you get on the Derriphan,” he asked Rey.

“Falcon,” she mumbled, taking a deep breath and staggering to her feet. “It’s latched just outside a maintenance hatch at the rear of the ship. Do you think we can make it there before the ship reaches the surface?”

“If we can get through that locked blast door, it shouldn’t be a problem. The Derriphan is laid out similarly to the Finalizer, so I should be able to navigate us there once we leave the bridge.”

Rey staggered over to her lightsaber and picked it up before making her way over to the blast doors. She ignited one blade and plunged it as deep as she could into the metal of the door. Heat and steam rose off the door’s surface, growing hotter and redder until it began to flow down towards the floor. She could feel her hands burning, but she soldiered on, knowing that this was their only way off the bridge and to safety. As the solid mass of the blast doors transformed into slag, Rey could begin to feel remnants of the Force return to her through the hole she was boring. She called on the tendrils of the Force that she could feel and pushed out, forcing a hole into the corridor for them large enough to escape through.

Rey deactivated her saber and walked back towards Ben, a little more sure on her feet than she had been before. She helped him hobble over to Kahn and lifted her remaining leg for him so that they could drag her to the Falcon. Holding onto each other for support, they slowly navigated their way through the Derriphan. Alarms rang everywhere despite the fact that the ship was deserted. After a difficult climb up to the Falcon’s ramp, Ben and Rey locked Kahn to a sturdy pipe with a spare set of binders and made their way to the cockpit.

Rey helped ease Ben into the co-pilot’s seat and fired up the engines as fast as she could. Ben leaned forward with a grimace and activated the comm to signal to Poe that they had completed their mission.

“Black Squadron, do you read me,” Ben said.

“I read you loud and clear. What’s your status,” Poe replied after a moment’s silence.

“Derriphan is set to collide with Pillio’s surface and Supreme Leader Kahn has been taken captive. No other captives to report. We’re setting a course for home base.”

“Well done,” Poe replied with some surprise creeping into his voice. “We’ll debrief back at base then. Black Leader out.”

The comm connection terminated as Rey punched in the coordinates for Ajan Kloss. She looked to Ben with a small smile as she sent the Falcon into hyperspace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I created a pretty interesting character with Supreme Leader Kahn, and I so enjoy writing her dialogue. I also feel like so many stories create these villains just to kill them off, and I wanted to do something different. I felt like it was authentic to the growth we've seen with these characters and made sense for the story I'm trying to tell.


	21. Return to Ajan Kloss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is primarily in a Poe, Finn, and Rose POV (sorry to those who wanted to see some Reylo fluff). I promise the next chapters will deliver on that account.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

The stars streaked away as the Falcon entered hyperspace. Ben shivered as he slumped back in his seat and looked around the cockpit, recalling the last time he had been on the Falcon on Starkiller Base – the worst day of his life. He hung his head, trying to shake off the regret and despair filling his chest.

Rey could feel Ben’s sorrow through their bond. She reached out a hand and laid it gently on his arm in an attempt to comfort him.

“I miss him,” Ben breathed.

“I know. I miss him too,” Rey replied.

They let the silence hang between them. This was the first time they had been truly alone together since Kylo had propositioned Rey on the Supremacy and both of them were exhausted from their wounds, depleted energy, and lack of sleep.

“If you’re cold, there should be some blankets back in the bunks,” Rey offered. “We should be back to base in a few hours, so you can rest if you need to. I can watch the controls and make sure that Kahn doesn’t cause any trouble if she wakes up.”

“I – I think I just want to stay here,” Ben said, looking towards Rey with a look of warmth and affection. “If that’s alright with you that is. I don’t think I could make it back there even if I wanted to.”

She smiled back at him and said, “Of course, Ben.”

They continued on through hyperspace in silence, each slowly giving in to their exhaustion and slipping into unconsciousness as the hours ticked by.

*

Rose ran up to Finn and snatched him into a hug as he walked down the ramp of a stolen First Order troop transport vessel.

“You’re back,” she gasped, pressing a kiss to his lips. “How was the mission? Why are there stormtroopers walking around without binders?” She shot him a suspicious look. “What did you do?”

“It went better than I expected,” Finn replied. “We brought back a handful of First Order prisoners, but the remainder of them are here as refugees.”

Rose’s mouth hung open in shock. “Refugees?”

“Yeah, I gave them an opportunity to lay down their weapons – to choose for themselves what side they’d like to fight for like I did.”

A half smile spread across Finn’s face. He looked out over the flood of former stormtroopers disembarking from the handful of transports they had brought back from the Derriphan and felt a swell of pride in his chest.

Rose looked up at him, grinning from ear to ear – her eyes disappearing in a happy squint.

“I am so proud of you,” she said, putting a hand to his cheek. “You saved them; you gave them hope.”

She hugged him close, putting all her strength into the squeeze. Finn smiled back at her as she jerked back from him, concern in her eyes and a raised eyebrow.

“Where’s Ben?”

Finn chuckled. “We left him on the Derriphan with Rey to take down the Supreme Leader and scuttle the ship. I’m sure they’ll be back in a few hours; they’re very capable of completing the mission and making it home safe.”

“Rey is with him,” she yelped. “Where did you find Rey?”

Finn smiled and gave Rose’s hands a gentle squeeze. “Rose, I would love to tell you all the details right this second, but right now I need to take care of organizing care and shelter for all of these displaced stormtroopers before Poe gets back. He didn’t seem thrilled that I improvised like this, and I’d like to make sure that he doesn’t have any additional reasons to try to demote me or worse.”

Rose crossed her arms, feigning a pout as Finn began to back away toward the base complex.

“I’ll come find you once most things are settled and I’ve had a chance to debrief Poe. I promise you won’t be disappointed when I tell you what happened on the mission; it’ll be well worth the wait.”

She uncrossed her arms and shooed him away, rolling her eyes playfully.

“Go on, General. Go get your work done. I’ll be waiting patiently.”

With a sly smile and a wink he turned and jogged off toward the base.

*

Poe eased his X-Wing out of hyperspace and blipped into sight of the curvature of Ajan Kloss. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at the familiar sight, knowing that he was home. The years-long struggle against the First Order was finally nearing its end – all that remained was to facilitate the smooth transition of power and hold trials for the First Order prisoners they had captured while taking down the Derriphan. He conveniently pushed the mess that Finn had likely brought back with him from his mind.

“It’s good to be home, BB-8,” he said, looking out through the transparisteel.

BB-8 beeped back cheerfully, but Poe’s smile fell as he spotted the Falcon floating aimlessly just outside of the planet’s orbit. He tried to raise Ben and Rey on the comms without response.

“This is Black Leader to home base,” he said into his comm as he changed frequencies to contact the command center on Ajan Kloss. 

Lieutenant Connix’s voice came in clear through the comm.

“I read you, General. What do you need?”

“It looks like the Falcon came out of hyperspace just outside the atmosphere but appears to be dead in the water. I’ve tried contacting Ben and Rey onboard but haven’t been able to raise them. Can you send a team up and investigate the status of all onboard? Supreme Leader Kahn was prisoner on the Falcon according to our last communication, and I’d very much like to make sure that nothing has gone wrong in there.”

Poe furrowed his brow as he waited for a response.

“Copy, General. I’ll send a boarding party up straight away.”

Poe told the remainder of Black Squadron to continue on to the surface while he kept his X-Wing idling, waiting for the boarding party to arrive. Every few minutes he tried to reach Ben and Rey but each time was met with nothing but silence.

“I really hope this is nothing more than the Falcon being a rusted-out bucket of bolts, buddy,” he mused to BB-8.

The boarding party finally reached the Falcon and latched on to enter through the roof hatch. Poe held his breath as waited for word. His comm crackled to life.

“General Poe, we found Supreme Leader Kahn still detained. She appears to be recovering from a blow to the head but is conscious and still in custody.”

“Good, and what about Rey and Ben?”

“They’re here, but they’re in rough shape. We found both of them in the cockpit unconscious. They look like they’re been through hell and will need medical attention as soon as we can get it to them; they’re alive but hanging on by a thread by the looks of it.”

“Thank you,” Poe returned. “Please get yourselves and the Falcon back to base as soon as possible. I’ll see you down on the surface.”

“Understood, General.”

He cut the communication line and egged his thrusters on, heading for home.

Poe landed and waited just outside of the landing zone for the Falcon; he wanted to be there to greet their valuable prisoner personally. The Resistance boarding party came down the ramp escorting Kahn as she hopped along on her remaining leg as they supported her by the arms. He stepped up to meet her

“Supreme Leader Kahn, welcome to our base. I’m General Dameron. You are under arrest for treason against the Republic and people throughout the galaxy.”

Kahn sneered back at him.

“I wouldn’t hold out much hope for such a political establishment with a pretty, little flyboy like yourself at the helm. All of my intelligence states that you’re an impulsive, childish man whose pride is so easily wounded by the realization of your own arrogance. I fully expect for whatever you’re planning to fall apart within a fortnight and be free shortly thereafter.”

Poe raised an eyebrow.

“Your intelligence isn’t up to date,” he replied. “And good luck escaping with one good hand and one good leg. I’ll gladly pay you a thousand credits out of my own pocket to start a new life if you can manage to pull off this grand escape you’re bragging about.”

He turned his attention to her guards.

“Take her to the medical bay and keep her under armed guard. I don’t want any more surprises today.”

“Yes, General,” they replied and pulled Kahn toward the base.

“See you at the tribunal,” Poe called after with a smirk. 

If he didn’t despise her so much because of her role in the First Order, he would almost like her. She was resilient and cocky; he’d give her that. Poe turned his head back to the Falcon just as Ben and Rey were brought out on separate antigrav gurneys. Both were still unconscious and looked worse for the wear. Rey had a deep cut down the length of her body, blaster wounds, and one of her arms looked like one of the animals that Chewy always brought back from hunting – bloody and devoid of skin. Ben didn’t look much better. He had deep wounds all over his torso, a gash across his chest, and looked to have been impaled through the shoulder. The makeshift bandages they had fashioned for each other were crusted with copious amounts of dried blood.

“Get them to the medical bay, quickly,” Poe yelled. “I don’t want to see us lose anymore heroes to this war.”

Each person pushing their antigrav gurney broke into a run as soon as they were on level ground. Poe looked after them as they made their way toward the base, running a hand nervously through his hair. He’d never forgive himself if anything happened to Rey. He hadn’t had a chance to apologize to her for pushing her to the point of using Force lightning and felt terrible about it.

Poe began walking back toward the command center to try and locate Finn, trying to push Rey’s condition from his mind.

*

Finn, Poe, Captain Doza, Lieutenant Connix, and Commander D’Arcy stood in a circle in the command center in silence. Captain Doza and Finn had just completed each of their summary reports on the events that took place on the Derriphan during the assault.

“I’ve arranged medical care for any wounded refugees and instructed most of our maintenance personnel to start construction on temporary housing for those we can’t accommodate in the base barracks,” Finn added to break the awkward silence. “I know this puts a significant strain on our resources, but I don’t regret it; it was the right thing to do. I’ve had enough of the pointless killing of stormtroopers that were never given an opportunity to make a choice for themselves.”

“How can we be sure that they won’t turn on us,” Commander D’Arcy interjected. “We can’t be certain that they aren’t plotting the downfall of the Resistance whilst staying here – that this isn’t some elaborate ruse to destroy us from the root. We are putting ourselves at great risk by allowing this.”

“With all due respect, Commander, I know these men. I was one of them. If they came here as refugees, then they are taking the opportunity presented to them to start a new life. If they truly believed in the First Order’s propaganda, they would have fought back. The First Order isn’t exactly the most subtle fascist organization that the galaxy has ever seen.”

The conversation paused for a moment before Lieutenant Connix spoke.

“No intelligence I’ve seen suggests that this is a ruse, Commander. I have every confidence that General Finn is correct.”

She turned and gave a small smile to Finn.

“I agree,” Poe said. “However, I think we would all feel a little better if we kept a watchful eye on our refugees for the foreseeable future. Just because they’ve chosen to desert the First Order doesn’t mean that they aren’t stupid enough to rise up against their liberators.”

Heads around the circle nodded in agreement. Poe was about to continue when his comm began to beep. He unclipped it from his belt.

“This is Dameron,” he said.”

Rose’s voice came across the comm.

“You wanted me to let you know if there was any change in Rey or Ben’s status. Well, Ben is awake.”

“Thanks for the update, Rose. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

He switched off his comm and looked to Finn.

“Let’s go, General. Looks like we might get that debrief from Ben sooner rather than later.”

Poe and Finn both delegated what tasks they could to Commander D’Arcy and Lieutenant Connix and walked briskly from the room, making their way to the medical bay.


	22. Awake and Alive

Ben cracked his eyes open into narrow slits, straining against the bright lights gleaming above. After allowing a moment to let his eyes to adjust, he cracked them open a bit further. His shoulder ached, though the pain was far duller than it had been before he lost consciousness. His first thoughts leapt to Rey. 

“Rey,” he called through the bond.

He could sense her through the Force but there was no response. Craning his neck against the stiffness that had developed from the pressure of the sling holding his arm, he looked to his right to see Rey suspended in a bacta tank on the other side of the room. He breathed a sigh of relief, rolling his head back to stare at the ceiling.

“Ben,” a soft voice said. 

Ben turned his head to the left to see a small woman in a mechanic’s suit with short black hair pulled into a short ponytail sitting near the door.

“Do I know you,” he asked.

“I’m Rose,” she replied. “I’m a friend of Rey’s. General Dameron asked me to look after you and Rey while you were still recovering since our medical staff are a little overworked right now.”

He inclined his head in a slight nod before trying to prop himself up into a sitting position.

“How long was I out?”

“You’ve been in the med bay for about one rotation – a little more than 18 standard hours. We found both of you in the Falcon, so there’s no telling how soon after the Derriphan you passed out.”

He turned his head to look at Rey again.

“How is she?”

“The last doctor in said she probably needed an hour or so longer in the bacta tank before she was stable enough to come out. I saw her for a minute when they first brought you in.”

He turned his head back towards Rose.

“It was bad, Ben – both of you were. What happened?”

“Most of her wounds were there when we ran into her. I wish I knew what happened to her myself. Me? All mine are just an occupational hazard.”

He chuckled to himself a little, wincing from the soreness that shot through his chest.

Rose examined him for a moment before standing.

“I should comm the Generals to let them know you’re awake.” She hesitated for a moment. “I just want to know one thing before I comm them.”

Ben looked at her, waiting for her to speak. Rose knew the answer but wanted to hear it for herself.

“Do you love her?”

He looked down at his hands. He didn’t want to answer. He loved her more than he could express in words, but he wasn’t willing to admit that to anyone but Rey right now, much less someone he had quite literally just met – so he remained silent, fidgeting and avoiding eye contact.

That was all the answer she needed.

“If you hurt her,” she continued. “I’ll kill you.”

With that Rose turned and walked out into the hallway, the door hissing shut behind her. Ben smirked for a second. He wasn’t keen on Rey’s taste in friends – the pilot and the traitor – but this one didn’t seem so terrible.

*

Finn and Poe walked side by side down the corridor towards the med bay.

“So there’s something you should know before we go in there,” Finn said.

Poe looked at him quizzically.

‘Like what,” he asked cautiously.

“How do I put this? I’m pretty sure that Ben and Rey are an item – like they’re together.”

Poe stopped and gave Finn a look of something resembling disgust.

“Please tell me you’re kidding. What makes you think that?”

“I wish I was. They – uh – they kissed on the Derriphan, or he kissed her more like. With everything together – his surrender despite knowing the likely consequences, his concern for Rey, the kiss – I mean, Rose seemed to think that he was in love with her even before the mission; she doesn’t even know about the kiss yet.”

Poe began walking again.

“I can’t say that I’m that surprised, but Rey can’t feel the same can she? This is the former Kylo Ren we’re talking about. He’s been Ben Solo for 5 minutes. There’s no way she could have feelings for him – right?”

Finn shrugged as they continued down the hall. Rose met them at the door to the med bay.

“Ben is awake and talking,” Rose reported. “Rey still has some time to go in the bacta tank, but the doctor seems to think that she’ll be okay. Also Ben loves Rey.”

She stood there clearly pleased with herself for being the first the figure it out and get confirmation.

“Yeah, I know, they kissed. Heart eyes every time he looks at her. This is old news,” Poe said, trying to sound like he, as the General, had known for ages.

Rose’s eyes turned into saucers, her mouth hanging open. Finn shoved Poe.

“I literally just told you that I hadn’t had a chance to tell her yet, man. What’s wrong with you?”

Poe returned an apologetic grin.

“Sorry, Finn, I guess I missed that part when I was trying to wipe the mental picture from my brain.”

Rose finally regained her wits and punched Finn in the arm.

“How dare you,” she said and walked away fuming.

“I’m going to pay for that in some not-so-subtle way later,” Finn said before heading through the automatic doors and into the med bay.

*

“Rey was able to disarm Kahn and knock her unconscious. I set the nav computer to collide with the planet surface. We loaded the prisoner onto the Falcon during the descent and brought her here,” Ben said as he finished his report on the capture of the Supreme Leader.

Finn and Poe sat in silence, absorbing the information.

“It’s a good thing both of you were on the Derriphan then,” Finn remarked. “Do you have any idea where Rey has been or why she was on the Derriphan?”

‘I don’t know, and, even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. She’s been through a lot; she deserves some privacy.”

“I appreciate the honesty,” Poe replied.

He stood to leave.

“Whenever the doctor gives the okay, we’ll move you back to your cell to await trial like we agreed.”

Ben shot a vicious glare at Poe, a feral look in his eye.

“I’ll go once Rey is awake – not a minute before.”

Poe didn’t dare argue with him. Ben still scared him more than he wanted to admit, and his service on behalf of the Resistance had, after all, been instrumental on the Derriphan. Besides, if it was to be believed that he was in love with Rey, then it wasn’t likely that he would run while she was still unconscious. He nodded his head in assent and strode out of the room with Finn on his heels, leaving Ben alone.

Ben sighed, stood from his bed, and paced the room. He stopped in front of Rey’s bacta tank and put a large, warm hand on the glass, sending Light to her in her unconscious state. With a sigh he looked up at the chrono on the wall; about half an hour left before Rey would be done with her bacta treatment. He had no idea how long it would take her to regain consciousness. He crossed the room again, examining all the medical tools lain delicately on silver trays. They reminded him of the week or two as a kid where he had been determined to become a healer – before he had been sent away to the temple. He had been briefly engrossed in researching the many healing techniques and practices until he had come across a holovid of a live birth that had left him deeply embarrassed and convinced him that being a pilot was the best choice for him after all. A small smile crossed his lips as he sat cross-legged on his bed, allowing his breathing to sync with the steady thrum of Rey’s heartbeat through their bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've been drawing this out a little bit, but I've been having fun writing for Finn, Poe, and Rose since I haven't had a lot of opportunities to write for them throughout the story.


	23. Coming Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the reunion you've been waiting for over the past few chapters. I hope I did the big moment at the end justice.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Rey felt peaceful and comfortable in the darkness. She tried to think of the last thing she could remember and thought of the streaking stars of hyperspace. “The Supreme Leader, the Falcon, Ben,” she thought to herself. She felt his presence near her. Eager to see Ben but hesitant to leave the comfort of darkness, Rey slowly opened her eyes. Ben sat in the bed across from her meditating. His eyes were closed, his face calm, betraying none of the fire she knew he had inside. Sensing that Rey was finally awake, Ben opened his eyes to stare back at her.

“Ben,” Rey croaked, her throat still raw from screaming.

Tears sprang to her eyes – happy tears; she was relieved to see him alive and in one piece. Ben rose and knelt at her bedside. She could see tears glistening in his eyes as well.

“I was afraid you might not wake up for a while there,” he said, brushing loose strands of hair away from her face. “I’m glad you made your way back.”

“Me too.”

A single tear rolled down her cheek, following the gentle curve of flesh that outlined her smile. Rey’s entire body ached as she adjusted herself into a more comfortable position. She held up her left arm to inspect the damage Captain Rato had done. Her arm was covered in scar tissue from the elbow down to the base of her fingers but was no longer red and raw. She turned to Ben, focusing her eyes on his arm cradled in a sling.

“Are you alright? There was so much blood,” she continued.

“I’m fine; nothing worse than you’ve done to me before,” Ben joked, flashing a playful smile.

Rey reached out and took Ben’s hand. His smile fell as he heard the automatic door open with a whisper behind them. Finn walked in. Ben rotated his head half a turn to see him in his periphery.

“I’ll be there in a minute, Finn.”

A look of confusion crossed Rey’s delicate features.

“What’s going on,” she demanded.

She could sense sadness and resignation in Ben.

“I have to go, Rey,” he said. “I made a deal with the Resistance that I would face my crimes as Kylo Ren in exchange for help finding you. They’ve held up their end of the bargain, and it’s time that I hold up mine.”

He looked down at their hands, fingers intertwined.

“Finn, this can’t be true,” Rey said, her voice rising louder with each word. 

Finn couldn’t look her in the eye.

“They’re Poe’s conditions, not mine,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry, Rey, but this is the way it is.”

“Ben turned. He’s been a victim of Snoke, the First Order, all of them. For Force sake, he captured the Supreme Leader and helped you to finish off the First Order.” Rey struggled to sit up, swing her legs over the edge of the bed, and rise to her feet, legs trembling. “What more do you want from him? He’s already died once; I – I can’t lose him again.”

Her body quivered as she struggled to hold back the sobs that threatened to break free. She wouldn’t let Finn take him – Ben belonged to her and the Resistance couldn’t have him.

Rey swallowed hard and continued, her will strong as beskar, “Let me talk to Poe. I’ll change his mind.”

Ben laid a hand on her shoulder as if pleading that she let it be. She promptly shook it off and took his hand in hers again.

Finn nodded his head and motioned for them to follow. There was no point in fighting her; Poe was always better at telling her no anyways.

*

It had been by coincidence that he had found Rey awake. He had made a point to check in on her as often as he could between meetings and monitoring progress on former stormtrooper relocation; this had just happened to be the first time she had been awake. He led Ben and Rey through the corridors to the command center in silence. He wanted to apologize to Rey for the Force-dampening binders, for the orders he had felt compelled to give after the Force lightning accident, but now wasn’t the time or place. He missed his friend. They found Poe leaning over a communications console speaking with Lieutenant Connix. By the looks of it, he had been attempting to manage a dinner date with her in the mess hall and was failing miserably.

“General,” Finn interrupted.

Poe turned to face them. His expression went from neutral to surprised as he processed that Rey was standing in front of him.

“Rey, thank goodness you’re awake,” he said. “Look, I’m so sorry that I pushed you so much before. It was completely my fault; I feel terrible.”

Rey stepped forward; her jaw firmly set.

“Why are you treating Ben like a war criminal,” she demanded, fire burning behind her eyes. “He’s the victim here, and he’s been integral to the Resistance’s success on your last mission.”

“That last part is true, and I appreciate his help; I really do. He’s only slightly insufferable when he’s not trying to tear through your mind, but you’ve got to realize that I’m in a tough position here, Rey. I’m a Resistance General, and Ben is a former First Order Supreme Leader. He needs to answer for his crimes.”

She fumed back at him, eyes like daggers piercing into his soul.

“And you’re any better,” she spat. “You’ve killed people. You’ve been responsible for the deaths of fellow Resistance members because of poor strategy. I know you don’t feel proud of any of that, but you’re not on trial because you just happened to be on the winning side.”

Rey wished she could take the words back as soon as they left her lips. She knew she was right, but she had been unnecessarily cruel. In the moment she realized that she had one hand balled into a fist so tight that her knuckles were turning white and the other was making its best effort to crush Ben’s large hand. She relaxed both hands at her sides as Poe looked at her with clear hurt in his eyes.

“I can’t stop the tribunal,” he said, lowering his voice to a monotone. “The New Republic wants justice, but I can arrange for Ben to be released into your custody until then if that’d make you feel better.”

Rey’s anger softened.

“Fine,” she relented after a moment’s silence.

As she turned to leave, Poe added, “And I’ll make sure that the tribunal knows everything Ben has done for the Resistance.”

She stopped for a moment, paralyzed by his small act of kindness, before making her way back towards the door. Ben followed close behind. Instead of turning back towards the med bay, Rey turned in the opposite direction and headed for the Falcon.

*

“What is wrong with me,” Rey thought to herself as she strode briskly up the ramp and into the Falcon. “Why do I have to leave a trail of misery wherever I go?” She made a beeline for the bunk where she had spent so many sleepless nights since inheriting the ship from Han. Without a second thought, she sat down on the bunk and set her head in her hands.

“Rey,” Ben called as he followed into the Falcon after her. “Rey?”

“In here,” she finally sent through the bond when he didn’t immediately find her.

His large frame took up most of the doorway. He hunched over and sat down next to her, putting a hand on her back and rubbing soothingly.

“I forgot how small these bunks are,” he mused. “I don’t think I’ve properly fit into one of these since I was about 16.”

She lifted her head and looked up at him.

“I was wrong when I called you a monster,” she whispered. “I’m the monster.”

“Rey, that’s nonsense. You’re not a monster; you’re the farthest thing from. What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

She shook her head as if in denial.

“I – I lost you. I didn’t know what to do. Finn, Rose, Poe; they didn’t understand. I couldn’t tell them who I really am – who my grandfather is. They would have locked me up like a traitor. I – I let myself feel. The pain, the grief, the rage. I –“

She couldn’t continue. Instead she opened her mind up to Ben. She let him see her bleed her crystal, how she had ruthlessly tortured the stormtrooper on Malachor, and her murder of Captain Rato. She sent him her feelings too – her anger, suffering, and loneliness. Ben rubbed his head, staggered by what he had just seen and felt.

Rey looked up at him broken. He could see the belief in her eyes that she was weak – incapable of resisting her roiling emotions and the instincts the followed. The thought of her believing that she was anything less than the powerful other half of their dyad enraged him. Rey was everything and more. She wasn’t weak; she was stronger than she knew to go through all of that and come out on the other side. He followed his own instinct and slipped his free hand behind her neck, pulling her mouth firmly to his. 

She didn’t resist; she kissed him back hungrily, moving her lips furiously against his. She grabbed him by the collar, deepening the kiss.

They slowly parted, their lips brushing against each other for a lingering moment. Ben leaned his forehead against Rey’s, relishing in their strong connection through the Force and the happy fluttering of his heart in his chest. He lifted his eye’s to meet her gaze.

“You are not your worst decisions,” he said. “You are so much more, especially to me. You’re everything.” He paused for a moment, nervous to continue. “I love you.”

A smile spread across Rey’s face as joy replaced her self-doubt and regret.

“I love you too, Ben,” she replied.

Ben smiled and kissed her again, this time softer and more tenderly, savoring the knowledge that Rey loved him too.


End file.
